Betrayal Inevitable
by myimagination2012
Summary: Fierce and Stubborn Ana meets an equally stubborn and arrogant Christian, without any knowledge about the secret that connects their pasts. What will happen when that secret comes out in the open? Will love be enough to ignore the betrayal? No Elena. No BDSM. Canon pairs.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: **** Fifty shades of Grey or its characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.**

**Thanks so much to my awesome Beta, Ninkita**

*******_**I know you guys have been waiting for my other forbidden story, I'm sorry to disappoint because **__**THIS is NOT that story. **__**I tried and tried but my creative juice was just not flowing for that story. This will also be a forbidden love story but not that kind. Hope you will give this story a fair chance.**_

**IMPORTANT: **

I do not sympathize with killers. It's just a story and for the sake of the story, just go with the flow. If it's a trigger, I would recommend not to read. Thank you.

**.**

**Chapter -1:**

**.**

**.**

Carla had to stop walking as the pain increased. She grabbed onto her swollen belly and cried out. Her contractions were coming fast and she was nowhere near a hospital. The street was deserted. Not a single car had passed since she had started walking. She had been on her way to the hospital when her car stopped in the middle of this deserted road. She thought she would be able to walk, but after 20 minutes of walking, she knew she had made a mistake. She should've called 911. She thought she didn't need anyone… that she would be able to do everything alone. Wasn't that the reason she had divorced her husband? She was now calling herself a 'moron'. She knew if Ray was with her, he would've taken care of her. She wouldn't have had to fear that she was going to die and so was her child if they didn't get any help soon. Suddenly, as if answering her prayer, a car started coming through the road. Carla waved one of her hands, hoping it would stop. The car passed by her without stopping. Carla started crying harder as her knees buckled underneath her from intense contractions.

Seeing the pregnant woman fall on her knees in pain, the driver of the car stopped his car and reversed it till the car was in front of her. He got out and before he could ask anything, Carla begged, "Help!" The man stared at her with a puzzled look on his face like he was watching an alien. Carla finally noticed that the man was tall, had black hair, and deep blue eyes. He was wearing a snug black hoodie, with a pair of light blue jeans, black baseball hat, and white tennis shoes. His shoes had blood on them and so did his pants. Carla would've thought about it more but she was in too much pain to do that. "Help, please. Please save my baby," she pleaded.

Without saying a word, the man opened the back door of his car. He picked Carla in his arms easily and placed her inside. "How far apart is your pain?" he asked.

"I'm too far gone. I'm feeling intense pressure down there," Carla gasped out.

"We're too far from a hospital. You'll have to give birth here. I'll help," the man stated emotionlessly.

"B-but…" Carla started to protest but another contraction shot through her. It was worse than the previous ones.

"No time," the man announced before going to the back of the car. He opened the trunk and got out a medical bag, a large plastic sheet, and a few towels. He moved Carla enough to get the plastic sheet under her before settling her on it. He bundled the towels and placed them under her head. Putting on a pair of gloves, he started examining Carla. The baby was crowning. "Your baby is crowning. On the next contraction, push as hard as you can," he ordered.

Carla nodded frantically. As the next contraction arrived in a few seconds, she bore down and pushed hard. "UGH!" she grunted.

"The head is out. Hold on! Don't push yet," the man instructed as he unwrapped the umbilical cord from the baby's neck, "Alright! Push on the next contraction," he ordered as he prepared to catch the baby.

Nodding her head, Carla concentrated on pushing as the next contraction came. "UUUGGGHHH!" she groaned as she felt the body of the tiny human leave her body.

The man caught the baby and immediately started clearing its airways. As soon as the baby was able to properly breathe, it started screaming bloody murder. Carla sobbed in relief. "It's a girl," the man said, wrapping the baby in a towel, "We should go to the hospital now." He placed the baby in Carla's arms. After finishing with her, the man got in the driver's seat and started driving. "What were you doing on that empty road?"

"I was heading for the hospital when my car broke down. I thought I could walk," Carla replied sheepishly. "Thank you for stopping. If it wasn't for you… my little girl and I could have died. You gave life to my daughter. Thank you so much. I'm Carla, by the way." He stayed silent. "Why did you have blood on your shoes when you arrived?" she asked without thinking.

"How's that any of your business?" the man asked.

"Okay. What's your name? I would like to know the man's name who saved my daughter's life."

"Jacob Williams," he replied reluctantly. "Why were you going to the hospital alone? Where's your partner?"

"Um… I recently divorced my husband. I came to Seattle to visit my aunt a few months ago. She's sick."

"Why didn't she come with you?"

"My aunt? She's in the hospital already. The doctors said she doesn't have much time. I was in the hospital too, but I came home last night to get some rest before going back. If I had known I would be in labor, I wouldn't have come," Carla pouted.

"Why did you divorce your husband? Was he a bad man?"

"I… No. He's actually a great man… but I wanted to be independent. I didn't want to depend on a man to live my life. I thought I could do this alone," she replied sheepishly.

Jacob shook his head. "So you divorced your man because you started going through your 'I hate men' phase? What a moron!"

"HEY! That's a very rude thing to say!" Carla protested.

"How far along were you when you divorced him?"

"24 weeks," Carla mumbled, blushing.

"After you're done with your aunt, I suggest you go back to your man and apologize for being an idiot. If he's a normal man, he won't take you back, but if he's a great man like you said, then he will take you back," Jacob stated dryly.

"You are mean," Carla pouted. Jacob rolled his eyes. "What about you though? Other than your name, you didn't actually tell me anything about you," she insisted.

"Unlike you, I don't have a habit of sharing personal information with strangers," Jacob replied with a smirk.

Carla gasped in disbelief, "How awful!"

Jacob snickered. "I finished my residency 4 years ago. Then instead of joining some hospital, I went on my way and decided to do my thing," he answered vaguely.

They arrived at the hospital soon after. Handing Carla and her baby over to the hospital stuff, Jacob sighed in relief. "Jacob?" Carla called out as he turned to walk out. Turning around, he raised his eyebrow at her in question. "Thank you. If you hadn't… You gave me a new life today. I owe you. Thank you," she said earnestly.

"Don't thank me. If you knew the real me, you'd be disgusted with me," Jacob stated matter-of-factly.

"What?!" Carla asked confused.

"Take care, Carla. You're the first person I have ever helped," saying this eerily, Jacob turned and left the hospital.

Carla swallowed her pride and called Ray from the hospital. She knew her daughter needed her father. He arrived the next day, excited to meet their daughter. Carla only had to stay at the hospital for one night before she went to her aunt's house. Ray and Carla talked at length. They weren't ready to get back together, but both wanted to stay close to their daughter. So they decided that they would stay together without the pressure of dating.

**.**

**One week passed by**. It was around 11 pm and Carla had just finished feeding Ana. Ray offered to tuck Ana back in. Carla handed the baby to him and walked to the living room. She was dead tired, but not sleepy enough to go back to sleep. With an exhausted sigh, she turned the TV on and started channel surfing.

"… this morning took an interesting twist in the Seattle serial murder case. The killings had started 4 years ago. Sixteen couples have been murdered in the last 4 years. Each couple was killed 3 months apart from each other, and had no connection amongst them. A man named Jacob Williams came forward this morning, claiming to be the Seattle serial killer. He confessed to murdering all 16 couples in the last 4 years. He even gave specific locations for each crime scene. The Seattle Police department is currently at a complete loss about this man's intention for confessing all of a sudden. Jacob Williams said in his confession that something happened to him when he was returning from his last kill, and it made him realize his wrongdoings. What was that event that changed this dangerous serial killer's mind is unknown," the reported on the news channel kept on droning.

Carla froze in place as she recognized the man on the news. This was the man that helped her give birth. He was the one who saved her life._** 'He was a SERIAL KILLER?!' **_"What the fuck?!" she gasped as that day's memories came flooding in her mind. There was blood on his shoes and jeans. His vague replies to her questions. "You're the first person I have ever helped," he had said before he left that day. _**'Is that what changed him?'**_ Carla wondered as she stared at the TV wide eyed.

"She's asleep," Ray announced entering the room. When he got no response, he finally glanced at Carla who seemed to be frozen. "You okay there?" he asked curiously.

"Ray… that… I know him…" she stuttered pointing at the TV.

Ray focused on the TV and saw the news. "Who do you know? What are you talking about?" he asked frowning. **'**_**Who could she know in a news segment about a serial killer?!' **_he wondered.

"I… I told you about that man who helped me, right?' Carla grabbed his hands frantically.

"The man who delivered our baby girl?" Ray asked.

"Yeah. Ray, he's... That's him," Carla pointed at the TV just as Jacob's picture was showing there.

"Holy fuck! Are you sure? Maybe… maybe you're mistaking him with someone else?" he said hopefully.

"NO, Ray! I could never forget the man who saved my life! He was kind, considerate, affectionate like an older brother, and really thoughtful. He was the one that convinced me to reconnect with you. How can he be a …" she trailed off, tears streaming down her face. She was having a hard time believing the truth.

**.**

**One month later**

It took the investigating team a while to gather all the information about the CAD _(Carotid artery dissect)_ serial killer case. They had to re-examine all 16 of the crime scenes a few times to be sure that no stone was left unturned. Finally, it was the first day of trial. The judge, jury, lawyers, audience, and everyone else were ready to start. The police arrived with the offender. The court proceedings started. Without any emotion, Jacob confessed his crime; giving explicit details. The lawyers were arguing amongst themselves when Jacob turned his head and his eyes fell on the last bench of the court room. '_**That woman…Carla!' **_ he thought, puzzled. He knew his case was nationwide news and news channels were showing it on repeat. He was sure she would know his truth by now. _**'Why is she here? Shouldn't she hate me like everyone else? She should be disgusted that I touched her newborn child! What was she thinking coming here?!'**_ he thought, frowning.

Carla didn't react when she noticed Jacob staring at her. His frown told her that he was neither expecting her nor was he pleased seeing her there. Carla, herself, didn't know why she was here. _**'What possessed me to be here?!'**_ she wondered. Ray had protested, but something inside her made her do it. She felt like she owed him this much... to be there when he got his punishment for his deeds.

Finally, the Jury declared him guilty. Since Jacob had pre-planned before ambushing his victims, he was sentenced with 25 years of life in prison without parole for first degree murder. Carla sat and observed silently as the families of Jacob's victims sighed in relief. She noticed no one else had come from Jacob's side. From the gossiping people beside her and the chatting lawyers at the front, she learned that Jacob had been orphaned at an early age and spent his life passing through foster homes. He then went through college and medical school by getting scholarships. At what point he turned into a serial killer though, Carla didn't have a clear idea. Even after having all the information she needed, she couldn't decide what she felt for him; gratefulness, hatred, pity, or maybe something else.

.

**Two weeks passed** since Jacob was imprisoned. He didn't talk to his fellow inmates; just spent hours lost in thought. The guards watched him 24/7. They even talked about him like he wasn't there, but nothing bothered Jacob. Not even when a few of the older inmates tried to bully him. He was sitting in the outside area that day, where the inmates were required to spend a designated amount of time.

"9204837?! You have a visitor," one of the guards announced.

Turning his head, Jacob gave him a confused look. "Visitor?! For me?!" he asked.

"Yeah. Her paper said she's your sister. She's waiting in the family visiting room. Two guards will escort you there, stay throughout the visit, and then return you to your cell," the guard informed sternly.

Jacob nodded his head distractedly before getting up on his feet. He was taken to a room where he was fitted with handcuffs. Two bulky officers escorted him to the family visitor's room. As soon as he entered the room and noticed his visitor, Jacob froze in place. "You?" he asked in disbelief. The guard behind him pushed him further into the room. Stumbling inside, Jacob glared at the guard before taking a seat opposite his visitor. "Why are you here?" he asked sulkily.

Carla sat in front of him and acted like she couldn't hear him. "Here," she said before pushing forward a plastic container.

Giving her a suspicious look, Jacob took the box. After a careful glance at the box, he realized it was a lunch box. Curious, he opened the box and gasped. The box had lasagna, some green beans, and some grapes. The mouth watering smell of homemade food made Jacob realize how hungry he was. He didn't remember when he had last eaten. He had been so out of it for a while that he won't be surprised if he had skipped a meal or two.

"I got you a spork," Carla's voice reminded him that she was there.

"Why are you…" Jacob tried to ask but Carla cut him off, waving the plastic spork in the air.

"I've decided to permanently settle here in Seattle. My aunt died 3 weeks ago. She left her house and a few other properties she had out of town to me. Ray decided he liked the city so he agreed to settle here too. From now on, I'll come to visit you once a month, and I'll bring you food," she informed him rapidly.

Jacob grabbed the spork and shoved a spoonful of food in his mouth while he listened to her talk. "Why?" he asked again after swallowing.

"Ray is a skilled carpenter and likes making custom furniture. He said the wood supply in this city would be amazing. He's really excited to set up his shop here," Carla replied with a grin.

"What? NO! That's not what I asked. Why would you come to visit me once a month? You've a normal life. Why do you want to complicate it with a serial killer?" Jacob asked, frustrated.

"I wouldn't have this normal life if you hadn't helped me that day," Carla stated. "Eat your food and stop wondering why I'm here," she scolded.

Raising his eyebrow at her tone, he continued to eat silently. After he was done eating, Carla packed the box in her bag and with a 'see you soon', she left, leaving a flabbergasted criminal and two curious bodyguards behind her. From then on, Carla came to visit Jacob once a month. She would always bring lunch boxes with her. Even thought he didn't show it, Jacob started looking forward to her visits. She never asked him about his victims or his thoughts on his crimes. She only talked about her ex-husband, Ray and her daughter, Ana. She treated him like a sister would treat her brother. Jacob didn't know how he felt about it. A strange kind of pain rushed through his chest each time he watched her leave. Fleetingly, he wondered if his victims felt the same for someone in their lives before he ended them.

.

.

.

**16 years passed by.** Carla never missed a visit. Each month she would arrive with a bright smile on her face and with tons of new stories to tell. So, Jacob was surprised to see his visitor that morning. A teen girl was pacing around the room with a curious look on her face. She had a heart shaped face, long light brown hair, bright blue eyes that sparkled with mischief, and skin so white that one would think she never went outside. If her hair had been black, people could easily mistake her for Snow White. Jacob recognized her, for it was only last month when he had seen her 16th birthday pictures from Carla.

"Ana?" he called walking further inside the room.

With a startled gasp, she turned around and in a blink she was in front of him. "UNCLE JACOB!" she exclaimed excitedly before wrapping her arms around him and squeezing hard.

Jacob froze in place. He wasn't expecting her reaction. _**'Did this mother-daughter pair forget that I'm a murderer?! What's with this excitement whenever they see me? Where do they get this desire to hug a killer from?'**_ "Ana? Kid, that's enough of this hugging business. Why are you here? This is not a place for a young woman like you," he said pulling back from his forcefully claimed niece.

"Mom is sick, but she didn't want you to go without seeing someone from the family. So, I offered to come here. I cooked you my famous beef stew and baked fresh bread too," Ana informed excitedly. "Come, come," she grabbed onto his hands and dragged him to the table.

Giving her a look, he sat down. "How's your mom? What happened to her?" he asked as Ana started pulling out containers from her bag.

"Mom started experiencing pain on her right side of her lower abdomen last night. We took her to the ER where the doctor told us that it was Appendicitis, and she needed to have an emergency surgery. She was rushed to surgery after that," Ana shrugged.

"Did everything go alright?" Jacob asked leaning forward. He didn't even know when he had started thinking of Carla as his real sister and her family as his own; though he would never admit it to himself.

"Yeah. The operation was a success. She just needs bed rest for a few days… maybe a week," Ana informed and she pushed the containers at Jacob.

"That's a relief. So… how did you enter here? According to the laws of this facility, anyone under 18 cannot come here alone. They must have an adult with them. So I repeat… how did you come here alone?" Jacob asked sternly as he started eating.

"I didn't come here alone," Ana snickered, "Dad came with me. He… he wasn't interested in meeting you, so he didn't come in. He's outside waiting for me. He also told me to tell you that he has friends from his army days who are now officers in this facility. If you do anything to harm me… or mom, he won't spare you," she recited with a mischievous smirk.

Jacob smirked, satisfied that finally someone was reacting like a normal person. "Tell him that if he wasn't a great father and a great….whatever the hell he is to your mother, he would've suffered. If he wasn't so protective of you both, I don't even know what I would've done to him." He looked up to find the teen smiling at him affectionately like someone would look at a kitten. "Why aren't you more…scared or skeptical? You do know why I'm in jail, right?" he asked.

"Of course, I know. You killed 16 couples in 4 years. Each couple was killed 3 months apart from each other, and had no connection amongst them," Ana stated like she was reading a news report.

Jacob stared at her in disbelief. "You know I'm a serial killer and you still came here looking so… disgustingly thrilled?" he exclaimed.

Ana laughed loudly this time. "When I was little I used to ask my mom who she goes to meet every month. She told me I had an uncle who was a good person that did some… really bad things. I believed her. I found out more about you when I accidentally stumbled on some old news reports ," she said casually.

"You're just as crazy as your mother," Jacob muttered.

"So… how did you kill them?" Ana asked curiously. "Mom didn't know the details and the newspaper just said something about the carotid artery?"

"Let's not talk about that. Tell me about your life. How is school going?" Jacob asked.

"School is boring. The queen bee is a rich girl who tries to bully me with no success. It makes her more angry because no matter what she does nothing fazes me," Ana giggled.

Jacob smirked in amusement. "Why does she not faze you?"

"I go to high school to study; not to waste my time thinking what others might be thinking of me. I want to finish my high school with a good enough result that will get me into a good college… maybe even get me partial scholarship? These are more important things in life. The people in high school won't be in my life after school is over. So why should I waste my time reacting to stupid rich girls' antics?" Ana explained.

"You're really mature for your age," Jacob complimented. The fact that his niece was expecting more from life made him feel proud.

"So… how did you kill them?" Ana asked again, more determined than ever.

"Seriously?!" Jacob groaned in disbelief.

"Please, Uncle Jacob!" Ana whined.

"That's enough. Go home, kid," Jacob said sternly. The guards observing them were having a hard time hiding their snickers. They loved when Carla visited, because that was the only time Jacob got flustered. It seemed her daughter, Ana, had that same talent.

"Come on, uncle! Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please," she started chanting.

After hearing the "please, please" for close to 5 minutes straight, Jacob rested his head on the table and started banging it. "I'll tell you. Just… stop with your 'please'. I beg of you," he groaned.

"I'll kill myself if I hear the word 'please' again," both security guards moaned as well.

"I won't say the 'p' word. BUT… you have to tell me how you killed your victims," Ana said smiling in victory.

Jacob raised his head and glared at the stubborn teen. "I stalked my victims until I was familiar with their routine. Then on the night I wanted to kill them, I would break into their homes and carefully cut off their carotid artery… the vein on their neck, while they slept. Only 3 woke up during the process. The others didn't even know when they died. I would then make sure to check on the kids if they had any or call 911 myself after I was out of the house," he stated dryly.

"That… that wasn't really gory. I thought serial killers are always messy killers or something," Ana sighed. "Anyways, I'm happy though. You weren't as vicious as dad thought you would be."

"Great," Jacob rolled his eyes.

"I'm so glad I came," Ana squealed happily, "We should do this again," she added.

"NO!" Jacob and both of the security guards yelled out in panic.

**.**

**.**

**8 years later**

She was humming along the song that was blasting through the speakers. Shaking her shoulders with the music, Ana walked to her closet. With an excited smile on her face she pulled out her new yellow pleated maxi skirt and a white lace cropped top. She dressed fast before doing her makeup for the day. She did a four strand Dutch braid before wrapping it around her head like a headband. She then lightly curled the rest of her hair. "Looking great, Ana," she said to the mirror before heading down from her loft.

She loved her loft apartment. Her living room and kitchen was on the first floor. Her bedroom was in the loft, along with her closet and bathroom. She had hung string lights from her loft to the opposite wall. The walls of the apartment were painted a light cream color. Ana had placed a bright red carpet in the middle of the living room to add to the attraction.

This was Ana's dream place. Other people dreamed big and wanted huge mansions with big cars, but not Ana. She had always loved to read, but she got her masters in business management. Before going to college, Ana and her parents talked about her future plans. Ana wanted to open a place where people can read and eat without leaving the building, and Carla loved the idea of a library**/**café**/**restaurant. So, she sold a few of the properties she had inherited from her aunt and bought this building on a busy street for Ana. Carla told her she wanted to be a silent investor until Ana was capable of managing by herself, and then she could buy her out. With the money Ana had saved up for college and with Carla's help, she started renovating this building. Since Ana got a full scholarship in college, she worked part time jobs to support her dreams that were coming true. With Carla and Ray's help, the building was ready in 3 years. During her senior in college, Ana shared her vision with her best friends. Surprisingly, they wanted to be a part of it. Now, at the age of 24, Ana was pleased with where she was and hoped that her life would stay this way.

Humming under her breath, she made herself some fruit salad and a toast. She glanced at the wall clock and hurriedly started eating her breakfast. She choked a few times in her hurry, but she was late. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" she started clearing away her plates. "Mom's going to kill me," she whined. "Fuck this! I'm the owner. I shouldn't be sacred of others…. Even if that other person is my mom… ugh! She'll scold me again," Ana whined, stomping her foot before realizing that she was wasting time. "Shit!" She ran upstairs to the loft and grabbed her bag. Swiftly, she ran out of her apartment and towards the elevator. She needed to get to the library half an hour ago.

This building had 6 floors. The first floor and second floor was a huge library/ book store. Ana's two friends, Caleb and Liam were the floor managers there. The third floor was a restaurant. Ana's friend Nicolas was the chef and Tom was the manager there. Chloe, another friend of theirs, was the baker who baked breads for the restaurant and cupcakes for the library. The restaurant had two sections. The first section was for formal, business dinner type people. The interior here had clean lines. The second section doubled as a café during the day and bar + cozy restaurant during the night. The fourth floor was a shoe retail shop managed by Ana's friends Bill and Jose. Alyssa was the main shoe designer and she also had a workshop off site. The fifth floor had four studio apartments where Caleb, Liam, Jose, and Alyssa lived. The sixth and top floor had four loft apartments where Nicolas, Bill, Tom, Chloe, and Ana lived. Two of the loft apartments were bigger than the others and had two lofts in them. Tom and Bill were twins and they shared one of those loft apartments. In the other bigger loft apartment lived Chloe who was a single mother. She shared her apartment with her 2 year old son. Nicolas and Ana lived in the smaller loft apartments that had only one loft. The book store/Library was called **'The Steele house'**; the restaurant was called **'Siren's call'**; and the shoe retail shop was called **'Addiction'**. The whole building was called **'Steele Tower'**.

The elevator door opened and Ana ran out, only to stumble right as she reached in the library. All of her friends were already seated there for their daily morning meeting, including her mom. "Really?! You're late… again?! Honey, you live in the same building as your workplace. How are you still late… almost every day!?" Carla exclaimed in disbelief.

"I don't care that you're late. Damn girl! I love your outfit," Jose stated with a grin.

"Thanks. I really loved this maxi skirt," Ana replied twirling her skirt a little. "And I'm sorry, mom. I really try, but for some reason, I never wake up before 7.30 am."

"Our morning meeting starts at 8 am and you arrive at 8.30 am… everyday," Tom said with a smirk on his face. "Even your mom arrives on time, and she lives a few _MILES_ away from here," he added. Ana poked her tongue at him.

"Can we start the meeting now? We need to open soon," Caleb said dryly.

"Yeah… and I want to wash up soon. I just got back from the fish market before this meeting,"Nicolas said crossing his hands over his chest.

Shaking her head, Carla took a seat. Ana also joined and gave her mom an apologetic smile. Carla smirked at her daughter in response. "Let's start with the Shoe retail shop. What's today's plan?" Carla inquired.

"We've a new shipment coming today. Alyssa will check them out first to see if any of them has any faults. The pairs with no faults will be placed on display," Bill informed after looking through his diary.

"The new shoe collection will be on our shelves in a few days as well. I just need to give them a final touch," Alyssa added. "I'll be at the workshop after I'm done checking the shoes here."

"We also have a booking for a birthday party in there. According to the friend who arranged it, the birthday girl is shoe obsessed. I think we'll have a good sale day ahead," Jose added.

"Okay. Next… restaurant?" Carla asked.

"We have more reservations than we have tables for in section 1, while section 2 will be open as a friendly café during the day and an awesome bar after 7pm as usual. The staff should be done preparing for the day by the time I'm out of my shower."

"We have it handled," Tom assured.

"I never doubted you boys," Carla smiled proudly at them. She had offered them the place, and they had made the restaurant hugely popular.

"I made the usual breads for the restaurant and a special kind of cupcake for the library, for the book signings today. The usual kind of cupcakes and pastries will be available at the café," Chloe informed.

"You always make yummy food, sweetie. I want to taste that cupcake before I go. Okay, next is the Library/ book store. What's your day like?" she asked.

"We have two new authors' book signings to handle today. Both of them are on the New York best author list and hate each other. So we have a stressful day ahead if they start something," Caleb stated dryly.

"Wait… what?!" Ana exclaimed, "How did that happen?"

"This IDOT booked them without checking out all the facts," Caleb answered glaring at Liam.

"I said I was sorry. I was on my lunch break when the requests arrived. I was so hungry that I forgot to check. But we booked their book signings on separate floors so that should solve the problem," he said with a hopeful smile. Everyone just stared at him in disbelief.

"Don't worry. We'll just… make sure they don't see each other?" Ana suggested as she tried to find a solution.

"Ana, look around. We've got BOTH of their posters hanging throughout the floors to promote the events," Caleb pointed out.

"We're doomed," Liam moaned.

"NO, we are not. They are both adults. Your duties will be to keep the authors away from each other and make sure they don't cause any trouble for the book store," Ana said sternly. "Anyways, I've a meeting with a new publishing company, SIP at 11 am. Kate will join me before the meeting so that we can go over our proposal one more time," she informed.

"I'm really proud of you, honey. If we get this publishing house too, then we'll have six publishing houses working with us to release their books," Carla grinned excitedly.

"It was a brilliant idea," Caleb added.

"Alright, girls and boys! It seems you have everything under control. Caleb! Liam! I'll be on both library floors to help with other customers. Let's go and see if all of our stuff has arrived or not," Carla closed her diary and got up. Everyone else followed.

"Hey, Cally! What do you guys do for the first half an hour before I arrive? I mean you all always start the meeting after I arrive," Ana asked, puzzled.

"We eat our breakfast because we all know you'll be late," Caleb answered with an amused smile on his face. "How do you _**ALWAYS**_ become late? I mean… you never come early… even by mistake."

Ana glared at her friend. "Jerk face!" she muttered.

Caleb laughed loudly before wrapping his arm around her. "Come on! We need to check the proposal. It might need some last minute edits."

.

.

"SIP is a smaller publication house than the other ones we have already got on board. So, this one should be easy," Kate stated confidently as she pulled off her ray-bans. She was wearing a navy blue Victoria's Secret pant suit with black satin camisole underneath and black high heels. Her blonde hair was left open with a few curls thrown in them.

"I hope so. Six publication houses under our belt would be good for business," Ana commented running her fingers through her brown hair. It was one of those rare sunny days. The sunlight showed off the copper highlights in her brown hair. Ana had thrown in a black moto leather jacket and black and white bag to finish her look.

"Why are you wearing this outfit, instead of formal clothes? I mean, you're looking cute and all, but… we're going on a business meeting," Kate shook her head in displeasure.

"I wanted to wear this, so I'm wearing this. I'm not changing for ANYONE. If they want to work with us, then good; if not, then they can go to hell for all I care," Ana shrugged dismissively.

Kate smirked at her. "I love your ball busting attitude," she snickered. "Let's go. The CEO and his people must be waiting for us." With a nod, Ana and Kate headed inside.

They were shown into the conference room. Ana and Kate had just settled in when two men and one woman entered the room. "Good morning, ladies. I'm Anthony Billings, CEO of SIP," the older gentleman introduced shaking both Kate and Ana's hands.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Billings. I'm Anastasia Steele, owner of the Steele House, and this is my lawyer, Kate Kavanagh," Ana stated confidently.

"A pleasure," Kate added.

"I'm Elizabeth Morgan, head of finance here at SIP," the female said as she shook Kate and Ana's hands.

"Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Morgan," Ana said offering her a polite smile.

"I'm Jack Hyde, the commissioning editor here at SIP, and I must say… I'm very pleased to meet you, Ms Steele," the younger man said with a flirty smile. He looked to be in his early thirties, had dark blonde hair, tall lean body, and light brown eyes. Some might even consider him handsome.

Ana raised her eyebrow at him in response. "Nice to meet you," she said politely. His overexcited attitude and flirty smile didn't sit well with her. "If you're ready, then shall we start?" she said addressing the others in the room.

Half an hour later, Anthony was impressed by Ana's proposal. The benefits they offered went well with their marketing and selling value with lesser expenses. Elizabeth calculated the numbers and was really pleased by the outcome. Jack…was too busy checking Ana out to do his work. "Ms. Steele, I'm really pleased with your proposal, but we would like to take a few days to think on this matter before we commit. I hope you won't mind," Mr. Billings said politely.

"That's okay, Mr. Billings. Take your time. We'll take your leave then," Ana said as she started gathering her stuff.

"Talk to you soon," Mr. Billings assured.

After Ana and Kate took their leave, Elizabeth asked, "That was a good proposal. We'll make great profits with it. Why didn't you sign the contract?"

"Something is going on with the board of directors currently. I think…. I think the ownership of this publishing house is going to change soon. That's why I wanted to wait before signing this contract," Mr. Billings explained.

"You think we'll find out soon?" Mr. Hyde asked curiously.

"Who knows what they decide?" Mr. Billings shrugged.

.

.

**One week later**

Ana was busy at the first floor of the book store with a few customers when her phone rang. Distractedly, she answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Ms. Steele? It's me, Anthony Billings from SIP."

"Mr. Billings, what a pleasant surprise! How have you been?" Ana chimed happily.

"If I say I've been good… then it would be big fat lie. Ms. Steele, SIP has been sold a few days ago, and I've been removed from the CEO position. We handed over all the prospective propositions to the new management. So, I don't know what will happen to your proposal. They might contact you for more information… or not. I thought the news should come from me," Mr. Billings said apologetically.

"That's… That's awful. I'm sorry to hear that," Ana muttered with a grimace.

"Me too. Anyway, it was nice to talk to you. Bye," and he hung up.

Ana looked at her phone in disbelief. Her phone rang again. Thinking that Mr. Billings might've called to say something else, she answered. "Hello?"

"Can I talk to Ms. Steele of The Steele House, please?"

"This is she."

"This is Andrea Parker speaking from Grey Enterprise Holdings, the new owner of Seattle Independent Publications. I regret to inform that our owner was not impressed with your proposal. So, he has decided not to go ahead with your offer."

"Thank you for letting me know."

"No problem. Have good day," the woman replied, and hung up.

"Um… can you excuse me for a moment?" Ana smiled at her customers before she headed to the bathroom. Closing the door behind her, she screamed, "SON OF A BITCH!"

.

.

.

**A/N: What are your thoughts on the first chapter on my new story? Let me know in the review. **

**PS: I don't know how the prison system works, so I made up all the stuff related to it. I also don't know how shoe retailing or restaurant management works… lol**

**PPS: My Beta informed me and I quote "**I don't think they'd allow food tbh. But everything I know about the US prison system is from reading fanfic, so…. I think they make you leave everything outside, and depending on the degree of offence or the level of security of the prison they will let the people meet but not touch/hug except when they enter and exit. I think only later on depending on behavior of the inmate they relax the rules. Other than that the peole can transfer money to the inmate's account in the prison so that they can then use that for buying any extras they want in prison." **But if I follow this info, the story won't work. So, just go with the flow.**


	2. Chapter 2

**OH MY GOD! You guys have no idea how happy I am. After uploading the first chapter, my computer had crashed and I didn't have any money to either fix it or buy a new one. It took long five weeks to finally save enough money to buy a new one. I was also able to get the hardware fixed and get all my work back. Thank you so much for your patience. **

**.**

**DISCLAIMER: **** Fifty shades of Grey or its characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.**

**Thanks so much to my awesome Beta, Ninkita**

**.**

***Information:***

Ana and her friends = 24 years old

Christian = 28 years old

Mia = 22 years old

Elliot = 30 years old

**.**

**Previously:**

"This is Andrea Parker speaking from Grey Enterprise Holdings, the new owner of Seattle Independent Publications. I regret to inform that our owner was not impressed with your proposal. So, he has decided not to go ahead with your offer."

"Thank you for letting me know."

"No problem. Have good day," the woman replied, and hung up.

"Um… can you excuse me for a moment?" Ana smiled at her customers before she headed to the bathroom. Closing the door behind her, she screamed, "SON OF A BITCH!"

**.**

**.**

**Chapter -2:**

**.**

**.**

Hearing her scream, Caleb and Liam rushed to the washroom. "Ana! Are you alright in there?" Caleb asked knocking on the door.

"I'm not alright. I'm frustrated," Ana answered from inside.

"Can we come inside to have this conversation?" Liam requested.

"Come in," she muttered, pouting.

Opening the door, they entered the washroom. Ana was leaning against the vanity and sulking. "You scared a few of the customers. What happened?" Caleb asked, patiently.

"Remember that publication house Kate and I went to?" At the boys' nod, she continued, "They just called to inform me that their company has been sold to another and the new owner was not interested in our proposal. I mean why the fuck not? It's a damn good proposal. Five big publications are making huge amount of profits due to this proposal. What makes this new owner so special that they don't want to do business with us?" she growled.

"I think since he or she didn't personally see the proposal, they might not have all the information. Why don't you take this proposal to the new owner? Show them the presentation. Maybe they will like it and change their minds?" Liam suggested.

"I agree with him. Call Kate and discuss it with her. Send the proposal to the new owner and let's wait and see what happens," Caleb added.

"Thanks, guys. Did I really scare the customers?" Ana asked, sheepishly.

"I might've been exaggerating a little. Come on! Let's get out of here," Caleb said, affectionately.

The group gathered in the café on the third floor for lunch. Kate joined them. Ana was still pouting. "It's only one publication house, Ana. There are more. In fact, there are two big publication houses in LA that are really interested in our proposal. We just need to have a face to face meeting with them to sign the contract," Kate said with a huge smile.

"It's not about having more publication houses. It's how they rejected us without even listening to our proposal… Like we're not good enough," Ana moped. Her friends were stunned. Ana was always cheerful and full of life. She rarely got upset. This matter seemed to have hurt her self-esteem more than anything.

"We're the best in our field," Liam said sternly, "If they don't want to work with us, then it's their loss, not ours."

"Why don't you take the day off? Go to that creamery near Pike Place Market you love so much. Have as much ice-cream as you want. You'll feel good and you'll also forget about that Asshole new owner of that Asshole Company," Jose stated firmly.

Ana lifted her head from the table and smiled. "Yeah, that sounds like heaven."

**.**

Ana's trip to the creamery was a success. She was in her happy place, eating ice-cream. After a long time she had worn her favorite outfit; white high waist knee length pleated skirt with purple flower prints on it and a matching purple off-shoulder crop top. She had accessorized her outfit with her $3,213 purple Chanel purse and her $500 Christian Louboutin purple platform pumps. She had bought the purse last year on her birthday, and the shoes were a gift from her friends. Ana usually didn't wear her expensive designer shoes outside, but she needed cheering up today. Taking one last cone to go, Ana walked out of the creamery with a smile on her face. She was so busy enjoying her ice-cream that she didn't notice that someone was heading right at her with his eyes on his phone. A moment later, they bumped into each other causing Ana to let go of her ice-cream. It fell on her purple high heels making her gasp in horror.

"NO!" she moaned as tears filled her eyes. "My Louboutins! This pair was real and not the dupes I usually wear. Why didn't I wear those dupes today?" she said to herself as she stared at her shoes in dismay.

"It wouldn't have happened if you were looking where you were going," the person who had bumped into her said snidely

Ana was going to apologize to that person, but as soon as he opened his mouth, she got pissed instead. "Really?! You ruined my $500 shoes and instead of apologizing, you act like an asshole?! You weren't looking where you were going too. Either that, or you purposefully bumped into me," Ana accused, her eyes flashing in anger.

The man was tall, had a lean body. His copper hair, grey eyes and chiseled face created perfection. At the moment, however, those eyes were filled with annoyance. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Look! I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going, but it's your fault too. Why did you think it was a good idea to walk around with food when you're wearing expensive stuff?" he snarled.

"You… You… MALE!" Ana exclaimed.

Her unique insult bewildered the man in front of her. "W-what?!" he stuttered.

Another man dressed in plain black suit joined them. "Sir?" he questioned.

"Freaking asshole!" Ana grumbled loudly before kneeling down and starting to wipe at her shoe, disgruntled.

"Listen, you…" the first man started saying something when the second man stopped him.

"Sir, you're getting late for the meeting," he reminded.

Christian pulled out his wallet and pulled out five hundred dollar bills. Kneeling in front of Ana, he grabbed her hand and placed the money there. "Here… Buy another pair," he said arrogantly before getting on his feet.

Ana felt like steam would start coming out of her ears any moment now. Grabbing a handful of ice-cream from the fallen cone, she got up and smashed it on Christian's suit, shocking him. Grabbing the money he had just handed her, Ana added another hundred dollar bill from her purse. "Here… for dry cleaning," she said sarcastically as she grabbed his hand and slammed the money there. Taking her bag, she turned and stormed away from there.

"Did she just… did she just smash… ice-cream on my suit?!" Christian exclaimed in disbelief.

Taylor, his security head stared at his boss's $2000 three piece suit in horror. "Um… you might want to clean it up… you have that meeting…" he trailed off.

Gritting his teeth in anger, Christian shrugged off the jacket and handed it to Taylor. "Take it to the nearest dry cleaners. I'll be in the meeting," he said before glancing up at the retreating figure of that damn girl. "I hope for her sake that she never comes in front of me again," he muttered furiously.

**.**

**.**

Somehow, Christian managed to suppress his anger sufficiently to attend his meeting. If it hadn't been important for his current acquisition, he would've canceled it. Christian Grey was the youngest billionaire, who was the founder and CEO of Grey Enterprise Holdings, Inc. Christian had been born in a happy home. His father, Charles Grey was a lawyer and ran a law firm with his brother, Carrick Grey. Christian's mom, Emily Grey was a stay-at-home mom. They were happy. Christian was only 4 years old when he had lost both of his parents. After that, his uncle and aunt, Carrick and Grace adopted him as their own. He led a relatively normal childhood after that. He was in the second year in college when he decided he knew more business than his teacher, so he dropped out of Harvard. Carrick was pissed at him for that and refused to give him the start-up money he needed to start his business. Tenaciously, Christian contacted his biological father's lawyer and got his hands on the money his biological parents had left him in their will. This resulted in another huge fight between Carrick and Christian. Father and son stopped talking after that. It took Christian only one year to start making a profit. It took a few more years for the father-son pair to start warming up again.

His adopted mother, Grace was the one who supported him the whole time. He was the apple of her eyes. Grace and Emily had been best friends. For Grace, Christian was the last link to her best friend. Carrick and Grace didn't have any biological children of their own, so they had adopted a boy, Elliot, a year before adopting Christian. Elliot was 2 years older than Christian. Since they grew up together, they were brothers/best friends. Elliot was 8 and Christian was 6 years old when the Greys adopted Mia. She was only a few months old at the time. Both boys loved their new sister, and it hadn't changed even after 22 years. They were really protective of their younger sister… even now that Mia was 22 years old and an adult. Mia loved her brothers and their protectiveness for her.

By the time Christian walked out of the restaurant, Taylor was waiting for him with the car. Taylor opened the door and waited as Christian bid his clients goodbye. Offering one last polite smile, Christian slid into his car. "What a day!" he muttered rubbing his forehead.

"Where to, sir?" Taylor inquired sliding into the driver's seat.

"Back to GEH, Taylor," Christian replied with a sigh. "This day has been going bad to worse," he groaned.

They arrived at GEH in half an hour. The whole drive Christian thought about that ungrateful woman. Her big blue eyes, delicate features, upturned nose, pale skin, long brown hair, and petite size … after bumping into her, Christian had been stunned. He had never seen such a beautiful woman before. He was attracted to her instantly, but all that changed as soon as she opened her mouth. He knew he was at fault too. He hadn't meant to insult her. He shouldn't have snapped at her. He felt bad for her and that's why he had handed her the money. '_**Who knew it would piss her off more!'**_

Reaching GEH, Christian headed straight to the executive floor where his office was. Seeing him approach, his PA, Andrea stood up to greet him. "Andrea, join me," he said before entering his office. "Anything new?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. I canceled all the upcoming proposals of SIP like you ordered," Andrea informed.

"We need to reconstruct the whole structure of this company from the inside. Get me those proposal files. Let's see if any of them is worthy of reconsideration," Christian ordered.

"Certainly, sir," Andrea returned with a bunch of thick files.

One by one Christian started going through each of the proposals. None of them were really interesting enough until he reached the last one; the contract of **'The Steele House'**.With a slight frown, Christian opened the file. This file had what he was looking for. This proposal was perfect. It would make tons of profits for the publication house. "I want this contract. Did you cancel this one too?" Christian questioned.

"I called to tell them this morning, Mr. Grey,"

"Call them back and tell them that I changed my mind and would like to have a face to face meeting with the owner."

"Certainly, sir," and she left.

Christian went back to work. He was lost in his work when he was startled by his phone ringing. It was Elliot.

"Hello, little brother," Elliot greeted as soon as Christian answered the phone.

"Hey, Elliot," he replied tiredly.

"What's with that tone? Are you okay?" Elliot asked, concerned.

"It's been a hell of a day. First some clients of mine created some problems. I had to spend my morning solving that. Then, I had a meeting all the way across town. I had just gotten out of the car when I bumped into that hellcat," he spat.

"Hellcat? What?!" Elliot was puzzled. "You met a… cat?"

"Not a cat. A really beautiful young woman with really shitty attitude. She called me a 'Male'."

"So? You're a male… aren't you?"

"I am, but… she called me 'Male' like it was an insult and then she proceeded to smash her ice-cream on my two thousand dollar suit," he growled.

Elliot started laughing. "Okay, spill. What did you do? No girl would be angry just because you bumped into them."

"When we bumped into each other, she dropped her ice-cream on her expensive shoes. I might've said something that pissed her off," Christian confessed reluctantly.

"I knew it," Elliot laughed. "At least she didn't slap you," he added jokingly.

"Funny!" Christian snapped.

"Anyways, I wanted to ask if you wanted to join me tonight. I want to go clubbing."

"Can we do that tomorrow instead? I'm really tired today, and instead of going home early, I've got to put in some overtime," Christian replied.

"Come on, man. You need to relax a bit. You're too stressed out. A night out would be great for both of us."

"Both of us? What happened to you?"

"I have that one bitch of a client. At first, she said she wanted granite countertops. Today we were supposed to hand-over the keys when she claimed that she had wanted marble countertops and demanded that we change it by tonight," Elliot stated dryly.

"Yikes," Christian winced.

"Yes and this whole time her husband looked lost in thought. He didn't even say a word," Elliot grumbled.

"Wow. So, did you manage to do it?"

"Barely. The bitch acted like it was our fault. She kept grumbling under her breath," Elliot said, shaking his head in frustration.

"I agree. We both need to relax a little. Meet me at Escala around… 8 pm. We can grab dinner together before we go," Christian suggested.

"Thanks, bro. See you later then. Bye."

"Bye," and Christian hung up.

**.**

**.**

When Ana returned, she was angrier than before. The library had closed half an hour ago. Ana stormed up there and slammed her bag on one of the tables and sat down to remove her shoes.

"I thought ice-cream would calm you down, but it seems to have pissed you off more. What's up?" Bill asked taking a seat beside her. Ana just handed him her stained Louboutin shoes. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Bill screamed in horror.

"I was coming out of the creamery when I bumped into an asshole. My ice-cream fell and ruined my $500 dollar Louboutin pumps," Ana muttered with a pout. "Then, instead of saying 'sorry', he proceeded to insult me. Fucking jerk!" she added.

"We need to clean it… NOW! It's an emergency!" Bill shrieked before running off with her shoes.

Alyssa noticed Ana sitting alone at the table. "This day had been awful, huh?" she stated taking a seat beside her.

"You have no idea," Ana sulked.

"ANA!" Caleb suddenly came in, screaming in excitement.

"Why are YOU so excited?" Ana inquired curiously.

"Andrea Parker called from Grey Enterprise Holdings. She said her boss, the CEO of the company, read through our contract and liked it. He wants to have a face to face meeting tomorrow around 11 am to discuss it," Caleb informed eagerly.

"Really?" Ana asked in disbelief.

"Yes. I called Kate, we should celebrate. Nico and Tom are closing the restaurant early today."

"As much as we would love to celebrate with you guys, I think after the day she had, Ana deserves a girls' night out," Alyssa interrupted with a mischievous smirk.

"What?! Why?" Liam whined in protest. He had just joined the group. Caleb pointed at Liam and nodded in agreement.

"It's been a while we girls had a night out. You boys can babysit Jayden and hang out in my loft," Chloe offered as she joined them.

"Seriously?! You want to leave us behind," Caleb pouted.

"Okay, boys. If we get the contract tomorrow, we can go out together tomorrow night to celebrate," Ana pacified with a kind smile. She was excited. It had been a while since she had a girl's night out.

"I'm here. What's with those sad faces, boys?" Kate questioned as she joined.

"You girls are going on a girls' night out," Liam stated accusingly.

"Why can't we come along?" Nicolas asked hearing Liam as he joined the group with Tom.

"Bill and I are coming along, right?" Jose asked, hopefully.

"I said girl's night out. I didn't say girls and gays night out," Alyssa stated dryly.

"I'm not gay," Bill protested. "I'm a Drag queen," he added after a second.

"Let's go to Ana's loft. We can get ready there," Kate interrupted the pouting band of boys.

"I'll get the shoes and join you at Ana's," Alyssa added excitedly.

"At least let us have dinner together before you girls go out," Nicolas suggested.

"Close up down here then. Order Chinese and go to Chloe's loft. We'll join you boys in 4 hours," Kate stated with a smirk. Ana, Alyssa, and Chloe snickered at the boys' put out expression.

**.**

Ana got out of the bathroom after wearing her dress. She had worn a black sequined short dress. It had a deep V neckline with spaghetti straps. She had applied smokey eye makeup with bright fuchsia lipstick.

"Wow! Looking smoking hot, Steele," Kate whistled as Ana bent over to get her silver high heels on.

Ana looked over to her blonde friend with a smirk of her own. "You don't look bad yourself, Katie," she said. Kate had worn a gold drape-front short dress with gold high heels. She had applied bright red lipstick with brown and black smokey eyes.

"How do I look?" Alyssa inquired. She was wearing paper bag jeans shorts with a black off-shoulder top with deep V neckline tucked in her shorts. She had finished her look with a black choker and mid-cuff black velvet boots that she had designed herself. She had opted for smokey eye makeup with nude lipstick and low ponytail.

"Holy hell! That's hot. Your boobs looks great, woman," Kate stated with a smirk. Ana nodded in agreement.

"Where's Chloe?" Ana asked looking around.

"Sorry, I'm late. Jayden puked on my first outfit," Chloe explained shaking her head. She was still dressed in her jeans and t-shirt.

"That's okay. You took a shower after cleaning up?" Ana inquired taking the dress bag from Chloe.

"Yes. Otherwise I would've smelled like puke," Chloe chuckled.

"Let's help Chloe get dressed," Ana suggested. Kate and Alyssa nodded in agreement.

Soon, Chloe was dressed in a black shorts, grey off-shoulder top, and grey high heels. Ana straightened Chloe's hair and left it open. Kate applied dark brown lipstick with thick eyeliner on her. "Damn! We're a beautiful group of women!" Alyssa exclaimed with a grin, causing the others to laugh.

"Anyways, as much as we love Jayden, I don't think we want another baby in the group yet. So, I brought supplies," Kate announced with a smirk as she pulled out a strip of condoms from her bag. She handed each of her friends 2 condoms each.

"Yeah. I've never looked at children and thought to myself, 'I just really need to get me one of those'," Ana said with a chuckle. "Anyways, let's go. I'm hungry," she claimed.

The girls headed to Chloe's loft where all the boys were hanging out. Liam and Tom were entertaining Jayden. The others were taking turns singing with the karaoke machine. "You boys got the food?" Alyssa questioned.

"Finally, you're here. We're starving. Why does it take you girls, Bill, and Jose so much time to get ready?" Nicolas complained, groaning.

"Beauty takes time. Neanderthals like you won't understand that concept," Jose replied waving his hand dismissively. Bill nodded in agreement while the straight boys rolled their eyes. Everyone started with dinner after that. Around 10 pm, the girls left for the Mile High Club.

**.**

**.**

Christian and Elliot finished their dinner at Escala before heading out for Christian's club, 'The Mile High Club'. Christian wore a pair of slim fit light wash jeans, grey t-shirt, white sneakers, and black long jacket. Elliot wore slim fit medium wash jeans, white t-shirt, white sneakers, and light brown long jacket. The brothers went up to the second floor. There were 4 private rooms there, of which one was always reserved for the Grey family. The brothers went to their reserved room. All the private rooms had a clear view of the dance floor below. They started with brandy as they talked about their awful days. One hour had passed, when from the corner of his eyes, Christian noticed something. He looked down at the dance floor and felt his eyes widening. There was a group of girls dancing in the middle of the dance floor, but it was the girl in black sequin dress that caught his eyes. His eyes roamed over her curves as she moved her hips seductively with the beat.

'_**Can't read my, Can't read my**_

_**No, he can't read my poker face**_

_**(She's got me like nobody)**_

_**Can't read my, Can't read my**_

_**No, he can't read my poker face**_

_**(She's got me like nobody)**_

_**Po-po-po-poker face, po-po-poker face**_

_**(mum mum mum mah)**_

_**Po-po-po-poker face, po-po-poker face**_

_**(mum mum mum mah)'**_

Music kept blaring in the background as Christian observed the girl. He had a clear view of her cleavage as she danced with her girlfriends, but he couldn't see her face properly. A sudden urge to see her face made him get on his feet.

"Where are you going?" Elliot asked curiously before he followed his brother's gaze. "Oh! I think I'll join you. Which one of them has your attention?" he clarified.

"The black sequin dress," Christian muttered before heading downstairs. The brothers went downstairs and headed towards the dance floor. Christian stopped a few feet away from the dance floor as soon as he had a clear view of the girl. Those familiar big blue eyes that seemed almost too large for her face, those delicate features, upturned nose, pale skin, her long brown hair, and her petite size were all too familiar. After all, he had just met her this morning; the ice-cream girl. Christian had found her attractive from the moment they met, but he was having trouble articulating just how amazing she looked at that moment. Those thin straps didn't seem strong enough to keep the dress on her body. It'd take only a small tug to get that dress off of her. Christian shook his head to get rid of his lust filled thoughts. He stopped in his place. No matter how attractive he found her, he was not going to approach that rude girl. Determined, Christian took a place in a booth. He wanted to observe her from a distance.

As the song ended, the girl and her group of friends went back to their booth, laughing and joking amongst themselves. Elliot joined Christian in his booth with their drinks. "We're stalking the girl? Seriously?!" Elliot hissed.

"Why would I stalk someone? Girls are desperate for me. If I wanted a girl, I won't have to stalk them," Christian scoffed arrogantly, taking a sip of his whiskey.

"So, you won't mind if I decided to approach her?" Elliot inquired with a mischievous smirk.

"Why would I care?" Christian said, disinterestedly.

Laughing at his brother's reaction, Elliot got out of his seat and headed towards ice-cream girl's booth. Christian watched with bated breath and narrowed eyes as Elliot greeted the girls.

"Hello ladies," Elliot said to the girls in the booth.

"Hello there," Kate replied leaning forward with a seductive smile on her face.

Elliot's smirk widened as he observed the blonde woman in front of him. Her seductive smile had caused movement in his pants. "Would you care for a dance?" he asked her.

"With pleasure," Kate took his hand and they headed to the dance floor.

"Seems like Kate has found her prey," Ana said with a smirk.

"Let's find ours," Alyssa suggested.

"I'm feeling lazy tonight. Next time," Ana said sipping from her drink.

"It's been a while. I want to have some fun," Chloe said with a smirk.

"Cool. Let's go," Alyssa dragged Chloe with her.

Ana got up from her seat and headed towards the washrooms. Christian followed her with his eyes, when he noticed a few men following behind her. Curious, he got up from his seat and followed them; he assured himself it was not because he was worried for the girl, but because he was worried about his club's reputation.

When Ana got out of the washroom, she found 3 men standing against the opposite wall. From the smiles on their faces, she knew they were waiting for her. She gave them a pleasant smile, hiding her nervousness. She knew these kinds of men. They enjoyed fear and helplessness. She was not going to give them that chance. "Hey, guys. Is it my lucky night tonight or what?" she stated with a confident smirk on her face.

"Hey, beautiful. We were watching you for a while and wanted to spend some time with you," the leader of the three said stepping closer.

"Of course. Why not? I would love nothing more than to," Ana paused. Stepping up, she ran her finger over his chest, "spend time with you, but I have two little conditions," she added.

"What conditions?" another man asked, impatiently.

"I want all three of you… at the same time," she whispered the last part, "and without any barrier. I want to feel you guys," she smiled seductively. The smile on the men's faces grew. No girl had ever placed this kind of condition. This girl was amazing. She wanted to have a gangbang.

Someone else was also hearing the group talk and was pissed. Christian didn't know why he was angry though. If she wanted to have relations with 3 men at the same time, why was he having trouble with it? It's not like she was anything to him. Shaking his head in disgust at his own behavior, he left.

"Shall we go then?" the leader offered.

"Sure… oh!" Ana stopped, giving them a sheepish look. "I think I should tell you, but should I tell you?"

"What are you talking about?" one of the men asked.

"I got my yearly medical report this morning… I'm HIV positive," she said. "I hope that won't stop us from having fun, right?" she offered them a bright smile.

"What?!" the men exclaimed.

"Don't worry, it's just a small matter," Ana waved her hand flippantly.

"I'm out, dude. I don't want HIV," one of the men said in disgust before getting out of there.

"Me neither," other guy also left.

"Um… I … uh…" the leader started stammering.

"What spoilsports those two were! We can still have fun, right?" Ana grabbed onto the man's hand.

"I just remembered I need to call my mom. BYE," the man squeaked before running away from there.

"Phew. Thank God!" Ana whispered before getting out of the dark hallway and making her way to the booth.

"You didn't go with your lovers?" someone asked as she was passing by them.

"Excuse me?" Ana replied, before turning around to find a man. He seemed familiar somehow. "Do I know you?" she asked with a frown.

"Wow! You forgot me already?" Christian mocked. "You ruined my two thousand dollar suit today? Remember?" he asked.

"You?! Again?! Twice in one day? Seriously?!" Ana huffed in disbelief. "Wait a minute… what lovers? What are you talking about? And why are you talking to me like you know me?" she asked.

"I was passing by when I recognized you. I… uh… I saw you with those men…" he trailed off. He was feeling silly. Why the hell he was still lingering here, he didn't know. He should've gone back to his booth or his private room upstairs, but he hadn't. He had waited around for this stranger. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard her.

"What a creep!" Ana said, grimacing.

"How dare you!" Christian shouted, furious. "Do you know who you're calling a 'creep'?"

"Why? You don't know who you are?" she questioned back, tilting her head.

"Of course, I know who I am," he replied angrily.

"Then why are you asking me, you creep?" Ana snapped.

"What? No… wait," he tried to protest, but Ana interrupted.

"Whatever!" she hurriedly walked away, leaving a frustrated Christian behind.

After staying at the club for another hour, Kate left with Elliot, Alyssa left with some man she found, while Chloe and Ana left for their house.

**.**

**.**

Next morning, Kate rushed to Ana's loft to wake her up. She knew they would be late otherwise. Knocking on her door relentlessly, Kate called out, "ANA! WAKE UP! ANA! OPEN THE DOOR!"

After knocking for ten minutes straight, a very sleepy Ana opened the door. "What's wrong with you?" she whined.

"We have an important meeting today. We need to check and recheck our presentation and files before that," Kate said pushing Ana aside and heading inside the loft.

"It's only 6 in the morning," Ana whined.

"It'll take you at least 2 hours to get ready," Kate said, amused by her best friend's whining.

"You bitch!" Ana muttered before stomping up the stairs to her loft.

Laughing at her comment, Kate followed her. "I'm selecting your outfit today. The company that bought SIP is Grey Enterprise Holdings, Inc. It's a massive holding company that makes a shitload of money. I don't think going there in a maxi skirt will leave the right impression," she said, heading to Ana's custom built closet. Getting no reply from Ana, Kate yelled, "I swear to God, Ana, if you're asleep in the shower, I'll spank you."

"I-I'm up," Ana mumbled from the bathroom.

It was clear to Kate that she had actually fallen asleep in the shower. Shaking her head in disbelief she kept going through Ana's clothes. She chose a white slim cut shirt with black suit skirt and black high heels. Happy with her choice, Kate headed out of the closet and laid the outfit on Ana's bed.

Ana returned from the bathroom a few minutes later. "I'm not wearing that," she said pointing at the outfit on the bed.

"Why not?" Kate asked.

"That looks like the outfit the secretary would be wearing in a 'boss-secretary' porn," Ana replied with a smirk.

Kate burst into laughter at her explanation. "What in the hell are you talking about? It won't even show your cleavage," she protested half heartedly.

"That's how the storyline starts. Don't you watch porn?" Ana asked, heading towards her closet.

Kate rolled her eyes. "I wish I didn't know that you binge watch porn sometimes," she muttered. "Don't choose anything unprofessional," she reminded loudly.

"You're no fun," Ana whined from the closet. A few minutes later, she returned with a black mid thigh length short dress. It had short sleeves, boat neck, and was backless. She added a pair of bright red high heels with big bows on the side. "You approve?" she asked snarkily.

"The owner of the company will fall in love with you seeing you in that dress," Kate commented with a smirk.

"I don't care as long as he approves of my contract," Ana stated as she disrobed and started getting dressed. She applied bright red lipstick, eyeliner, and a thick layer of mascara. She curled the ends of her hair to finish the look. Donning a pair of sunglasses, she declared, "I'm ready." Kate smiled and they headed down stairs to have breakfast.

Kate and Ana arrived at GEH just before 11 am. The receptionist gave them visitor's ID cards before showing them to the elevator. The elevator whisked them with terminal velocity to the twentieth floor. The doors slid open to a large lobby of glass, steel, and white sandstone. A young blonde woman, dressed immaculately in black and white, rose to greet them.

"Ms. Steele, Ms. Kavanagh, could you wait here, please?" She pointed to a seating area of white leather chairs. Behind the leather chairs was a spacious glass-walled meeting room with an equally spacious dark wood table and at least twenty matching chairs around it. Beyond that, there was a floor-to-ceiling window with a view of the Seattle skyline that looked out through the city towards the Sound.

Ana and Kate sat down. Ana started playing games in her phone as Kate started going through the file once more. "I'm glad we revised the presentation this morning," Ana said softly so that only Kate could hear.

"You're welcome," Kate replied, smiling.

"I don't hate you for waking me up so early anymore," Ana added.

"Good to know," Kate snickered, still not looking up.

A few minutes later, another elegant, flawlessly dressed blonde woman came out of a large door to the right. "Ms. Steele?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"I'm Andrea Parker, Mr. Grey's PA. Mr. Grey will see you in a moment. Have you been offered any refreshment?" Andrea inquired politely.

"Um… no," Ana replied exchanging a look with Kate.

Andrea frowned and eyed the young woman at the desk. Turning around, she asked, "Would you ladies like some tea, coffee, or water?"

"Coffee would be nice," Ana answered.

"For me too," Kate added.

"Olivia, please fetch Ms. Steele and Ms. Kavanagh some coffee," Andrea said sternly. Olivia scooted up immediately and scurried to a door on the other side of the foyer.

"My apologies, Ms. Steele, Ms. Kavanagh. Olivia is our new intern. Please be seated. Mr. Grey will be another five minutes," Andrea said.

Olivia returned with a tray. "Here you go, Miss Steele, Ms. Kavanagh," she said placing the tray on the coffee table in front of them.

"Thank you," Ana and Kate said before each taking a mug. Andrea and Olivia returned to the large desk, and both continued with their work.

About 10 minutes later, the office door opened and a tall, elegantly dressed, attractive African-American man with short dreads exited. He turned and said through the door, "Golf, this week, Grey?" They couldn't hear the reply. Olivia jumped up and called the elevator. The man soon departed through the sliding door.

"Mr. Grey will see you now, Miss Steele, Ms. Kavanagh. Do go through," Andrea said addressing them. "You don't need to knock… just go in," she added politely.

Ana nodded at Andrea before pushing the door open. She entered the room to find a man was standing with his back facing the door. She observed that he was tall, dressed in a fine gray suit, white shirt, with unruly dark copper colored hair. By then Kate had also entered the room. The sound of the door closing caused the man to turn around. Ana couldn't stop the surprised gasp that left her.

"YOU?!" Christian and Ana exclaimed at the same time.

.

.

.

**A/N: What do you think about Christian? Do you like Ana and Christian's interaction so far? If you think they will be instantly in love, then let me tell you, they won't be. Hahaha.**


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: **** Fifty shades of Grey or its characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.**

**Thanks so much to my awesome Beta, Ninkita**

**.**

***Information:***

Ana and her friends = 24 years old

Christian = 28 years old

Mia = 22 years old

Elliot = 30 years old

**.**

**Previously:**

She entered the room to find a man was standing with his back facing the door. She observed that he was tall, dressed in a fine gray suit, white shirt, with unruly dark copper colored hair. By then Kate had also entered the room. The sound of the door closing caused the man to turn around. Ana couldn't stop the surprised gasp that left her.

"YOU?!" Christian and Ana exclaimed at the same time.

**.**

**.**

**Chapter -3:**

**.**

**.**

"How is this happening?" Ana asked no one in particular.

"Two days in a row?! Are you stalking me?" Christian accused.

"I've more important things to do than stalking creeps," Ana scoffed.

The sound of someone clearing their throat stopped both Ana and Christian. Surprised, they turned to look at the other person in the room. They had forgotten that they weren't alone. "Hi. I'm Kate Kavanagh. How do you two know each other?" Kate asked, raising her eyebrow.

"He's the one who ruined my $500 Louboutins," Ana said.

At the same time, Christian said, "She ruined my $2000 suit."

"Um…" Kate hesitated. She didn't know how to handle this unique situation.

"Why are you here, anyway?" Christian asked, frowning.

"I'm Anastasia Steele from 'The Steele House' book store and library. Kate and I are here for a meeting with Mr. Grey," Ana replied taking a deep breath, calmer than before. "We'd like it if you would inform your boss of our arrival," she added.

"What boss?! I'm Christian Grey, the founder and CEO of Grey Enterprise Holdings, Inc." he introduced, standing straighter.

"That still doesn't change the fact that you're a jerk and a creep," Ana stated casually.

Kate panicked. "Ana!" she hissed.

"I'm not a creep, okay?" Christian protested.

"You…" Ana started saying something when they were interrupted.

"STOP! BOTH OF YOU!" Kate yelled sternly. "You're both adults and professionals. How could either of you behave like this?" she scolded. "Keep aside what happened in the past and let's start over," she suggested, or more like commanded.

Taking a deep breath to calm his irritation, Christian offered his hand. "Hello. I'm Christian Grey," he said.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Grey. I'm Kate Kavanagh, The Steele House's lawyer."

"Please take a seat," Christian said before turning to the other female in the room. He found her giving him suspicious looks. He raised his eyebrow at her.

"Anastasia Steele," Ana muttered, taking his hand, "and I wasn't stalking you," she added.

"Neither was I. It's pure coincidence that we met three times in the last two days," he said, gesturing towards an empty seat.

The meeting went well, but both Ana and Christian were wary of each other the whole time. Kate noticed how they kept glancing at each other with distrustful looks, and sighed. She could feel a headache coming.

**.**

"Why the hell did you react like that? You never act like that. You always say that even if expensive, it's nothing but a pair of shoes. So why are you angry at that guy over a pair of shoes?" Kate asked bluntly as the door of the elevator closed behind them.

Ana was silent for a few moments before she looked at her friend. "You're right. I… I never act like this, but something about that man irritates me on a molecular level. I just can't stop being snarky and argumentative whenever he's near," she said, confused.

Kate chuckled. "You're so weird," she stated. "I think it would be better to bring Caleb for future meetings, instead of you," she added.

"If we want to continue doing business with him, it would be a good idea for me to avoid him. He makes me want to punch him, with that sour, arrogant look on his face," Ana huffed, shaking her head.

**.**

**.**

Christian shook his head in disbelief as he stared out of the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office. He couldn't understand what was happening. _**'Why am I coming face to face with **_**that**_** girl again and again? Is it really nothing but a series of strange coincidences?' **_he wondered to himself. A knock on the door snapped him out of his troubled thoughts. "Come in," he called out.

"Mr. Grey, your next appointment is here," Andrea informed.

"Send him in," he said with a sigh, "and bring me a cup of coffee," he added.

"Yes, sir," Andrea said before leaving.

Barney, head of GEH's IT department, entered the room. "Good morning, sir," he greeted as he came to stand in front of Christian's desk.

"Barney, I need you to do a background check on 'The Steele House' bookstore/library and its owner, Ms. Anastasia Steele," Christian ordered.

"Alright, sir."

Barney turned and started heading out when Christian spoke again, not looking up as he continued to type on his laptop. "Barney, I want Ms. Steele's file first. It would be great if you could get it in the next few hours." After lunch, Barney returned with Ana's file. Christian waited until he was alone before opening the file.

**Name:** ANASTASIA ROSE STEELE

**DOB:** April 12, 1995, Seattle, WA

**Address:** 6612 XY Street, Apartment 2,  
6Th floor, Steele Tower,Seattle, WA

**Mobile No:** 360-777-4352

**Social Security No:** 987-65-4320

**Bank:** ZXY Bank, Seattle, WA:  
Acct. No.: 309361  
Balance: $406,895.35

**Occupation:** Co-owner of Steele Tower,  
The Steele House (Library/bookstore),  
Siren's call (restaurant), and  
Addiction (Shoe retail shop).

**Prior Education:** Undergraduate  
South Seattle College  
Business Major  
GPA: 4.0

Montesano Jr. Sr. High School  
SAT Score: 2150

**Past Employment:** Clayton's Hardware Store,  
Seattle, WA (part-time)

Random Steak house,  
Seattle, WA (part-time)

McDonalds,  
98 Street. Seattle, WA (part-time)

ZAIRA Clothing retail shop,  
Seattle, WA (part-time)

**Father:** Raymond Frank Steele,  
DOB: Sept. 1, 1969,

**Mother:** Carla May Adams,  
DOB: July 18, 1971  
m. Raymond Frank Steele, June 6, 1992, divorced January 6, 1995

**Political Affiliations:** None Found

**Religious Affiliations:** None Found

**Sexual Orientation:** Heterosexual

**Relationship Status:** Single

Everything was normal about the file, but Christian couldn't move his eyes from Ana's birth of date. He could never forget that date. _'__**What a bizarre coincidence that this girl was born the same day he had lost both of his parents!**_**'** Flashes of blood came to his mind, causing him to blink rapidly and shake his head. His heart started beating faster. He didn't want to relive that day. He closed the file angrily and started taking deep breaths to calm down. Irrationally, his anger was focused on Ana.

"Did she have to have that date of birth? UGH!" he growled under his breath. The logical part of his brain knew that it wasn't Ana's fault that she was born that day. Running his fingers through his hair, he closed his eyes tightly. "Damn it!" he whispered. It had been a decade since he had last lost his calm like this.

**.**

**.**

**Three days later.**

"Mom, you won't believe it! This store has an amazing and unique shoe collection. I was totally mesmerized when we went there for Cassie's birthday," Mia squealed excitedly.

Grace and Grace's friend, Elizabeth Timber, were having their weekly brunch with their daughters. Mia and Jessica had been friends since pre-school. Grace and Elizabeth bonded when they used to take the girls to their pre-school. Since then, Grace and Elizabeth would take the girls for a weekly brunch and sometimes for shopping. Sipping on their coffee, Grace and Elizabeth exchanged an amused look. They knew Mia and Jessica were obsessed with shoes. It doesn't matter that their closets were overflowing with shoes, but they still bought new pairs every time they went shopping.

"Yes, mom. I almost kissed the manager of the store when he said a new collection by their resident designer would be on the shelves soon," Jessica added, equally excited. Elizabeth laughed at her daughter's excitement.

"Why don't we take you girls to that store? I want to see what's so special about it," Grace said, placing her cup down.

"Let's go then," Mia offered, almost vibrating in excitement.

"Mia, honey, at least let us finish our food," Elizabeth said laughing.

Mia's face fell a little. She was hungry but she wanted to go shopping too. It was hard to decide what to do. "We won't be able to concentrate properly if we're hungry," Jessica said before she started digging into her food. Agreeing with her best friend's logic, Mia started doing the same.

After finishing their brunch, Mia and Jessica took their mothers to Steele Tower. Large sign boards announced what the first 4 floors of the building presented. "Mom, the shoe store is on the 4th floor of this building," Mia informed, pointing at the signboard for 'Addiction'.

"Do the other floors have similar stores too?" Elizabeth inquired curiously.

"The 1st and 2nd floor is a library from what I heard, and the 3rd floor is a restaurant," Jessica replied.

"That's interesting," Grace commented looking up.

"Let's go!" Mia urged grinning widely. Smiling at her enthusiasm, the ladies headed inside.

Alyssa was at the workshop that day, so Ana was at the retail store. Jose and Bill were busy with other customers when the Grey and Timber women entered the store. Giving them a friendly smile, Ana greeted them. "Welcome to Addiction, ladies. I'm Ana Steele, the co-owner of this store."

"Hey, Ana!" Mia waved, "This is my friend, Jessica. We came here for a birthday party two weeks ago. We loved the collection and were informed that a new collection was to arrive soon."

"You're absolutely correct. Every season our designer, Alyssa, brings out new collections of stylish and comfort shoes. All these shoes are handcrafted so that our customers can be comfortable all day while looking gorgeous," Ana stated proudly. "Why don't you look around and see what you like? Call me when you're done," she added smiling.

Smiling at Ana, the ladies went around the shop to look for the styles they liked. When they had selected a few designs, they waved at Ana to come over. "Why don't you ladies take a seat and one by one give me your choices? I'll bring your sizes after I'm done measuring your feet," Ana offered.

"Sounds good, dear," Grace said with a smile.

After the ladies took their seats, Ana approached them with a smile on her face. "Who wants to go first?" she asked.

"The young ones will go first," Elizabeth answered.

"We always buy the same shoes in our sizes so that we can match," Jessica offered brightly.

"Okay then. First question; what are going to use these shoes for?"

"Casual use and formal parties?" Mia stated looking at Jessica for her agreement.

"And walking a lot. We want to look amazing and feel comfortable at the same time," Jessica added with a decisive nod.

"Of course. If your feet are happy, you'll be happy," Ana said with a smile. "Now, why don't I get your sizes so that you can try some shoes on," she said after measuring both girls' feet.

Ana came back with eight boxes and placed four boxes on each of the girl's side. "I brought the shoes you selected and along with one pair that's similar to the first one and two pairs I think you'll like. Here," she opened the boxes and placed all four designs side by side. "All of our shoes have Polyurethane sole. That's why no matter which occasion you use these shoes for, you'll be comfortable. That means your ankles, knees or back won't hurt. I believe 'happy feet mean happy people'," she said.

"Oh my god!" both girls squealed. "All of them look so amazing!" they said at the same time, before looking at each other and bursting into giggles. Their mothers shook their heads in amusement.

"Why don't you try them on?" Ana offered and started helping Mia and Jessica getting the shoes on one by one.

"They are really flexible and comfortable to walk in. I didn't know you could feel like that wearing a pair of heels," Mia said in awe as she looked down at her feet.

"I agree," Jessica said with a wide smile on her face.

One by one Ana showed all four of them their desired shoes along with extras. At the end, Mia and Jessica ended up with five pairs each while Grace chose three pairs and Elizabeth picked two pairs. "Let go. I'll walk you to the register," Ana offered taking the boxes.

"Thank you so much. You've been really kind to us," Grace said with warmly.

"It was a pleasure," Ana replied modestly.

"You said you were the co-owner of this store?" Elizabeth inquired curiously.

"Actually, my mom and I own this building. Until I can buy her portion, I'm the co-owner instead of the owner," Ana replied with a shrug.

"You mean the library, restaurant and this store, you own all of them?" Grace asked.

"Yes, ma'am."

"That's amazing, dear. How old are you?" Grace asked.

"I'm 24 years old. My friends and I run all of the businesses in this building. It's home," Ana informed proudly.

"Your parents must be really proud of you," Elizabeth said with a huge smile. "It isn't common to meet young people already established in their careers. At your age, most would just be starting their careers. Learn something from her," she said to Mia and Jessica.

"Do you really own this whole building?" Jessica asked. At Ana's nod, she asked, a little confused, "Then why are you working as a salesperson? Can't you just hire people to do this job?"

"I love my business… all three of them. They are like my children. Some mothers like to let other people raise their babies, while some mothers like to raise them themselves. I'm the second kind," Ana said as she handed them their shopping bags.

"That's so cool. Hey, do you take people in for part time jobs?" Mia inquired.

"Yes, of course. The students that work part time here get 60% discount on any of the school books they might need and 30% discount on other books. Others, who are not students, get 40% discount on any books they want. On top of that, they can snack on as many cupcakes as they want from the break room. My baker friend, Chloe, makes fresh cupcakes everyday for the restaurant and all the break rooms in this building," Ana informed.

"Our summer break is coming up. Do you think we can apply for part time jobs here?" Mia asked hopefully.

"Of course. Come and look for Caleb at the library floor when you need a job. He'll help you out," Ana replied kindly.

"Thank you so much," Mia said, grinning.

"Dear, we'd like to visit the library. It'd been a while since I read a good book. Can you accompany us there?" Grace requested.

"Of course. Let me just notify my… friends..." Ana trailed off, looking towards the other side of the store.

Grace and the others followed her gaze only to find two boys; one was choking another. The one who was choking the other young man was wearing a yellow suit, a white t-shirt, and a pair of red converse. The young man who was getting choked was wearing skin-tight leather pants, see-through black t-shirt that showed off numerous tattoos on his lean body, and knee high black boots with tons of chains on it. Panicked, Grace and Elizabeth turned to Ana, only to find a blank look on her face.

Ana stared at the fighting pair and gave then a serious you-can't-read-my-emotions look. "Jose, please restrain yourself from choking Bill. You still need him to manage the store. I'm going down for a while."

Instantly, both boys stopped fighting and gave Ana an innocent smile. "We'll take care of it," Jose said. He was the one who was wearing the yellow suit.

Shaking her head at her friends, Ana lead the four of them towards the second floor. "Will they be alright?" Elizabeth asked, frowning.

"They will be fine. They like to mess with each other," Ana said, smirking.

"My boys used to do that all the time… they still do sometimes. As soon as they would see me, they would start acting like nothing happened," Grace said laughing in amusement.

Smiling, Ana opened the entrance door. "This is the second floor of our library/ book store. You can read here, borrow books for a fixed period of time, or buy the books you want. You can also order and pre-order books from our website and we'll deliver them to your house," she informed.

"Wow," that was the only word Grace and Elizabeth could utter. They both loved a good book. The rows and rows of books with a few couches in between made them gasp in delight. Mia and Jessica exchanged amused looks at their mothers' reaction. They spent the next two hours going through each of the bookshelves. At the end, they both had dozens of book in their hands. Mia and Jessica enjoyed spending time with Ana. They found her friendly and kind. Chloe also joined the girls when she came to deliver that day's cupcakes.

"Ana, dear, this is an amazingly magical place," Grace gushed excitedly as she approached the table where the girls were.

"Thank you. I love to read and feel the pleasant weight of books in my hands. I shared it with my mom and she suggested this place. This place is her brain child and my dream world," Ana stated, looking around with a smile.

"My younger son is somewhat like you," Grace said, "He wanted to open a business of his own. So, he dropped out of college and started his business. Within a year, he started making huge profits."

"Wow. That's amazing."

"Anyways, if you don't mind, I actually wanted to read a writer's latest book but I was informed that it's not here yet," Grace said hesitantly.

"Don't worry. Why don't you leave your name and address with me? I'll personally deliver the book at your house as soon as it arrives," Ana assured.

"Really?! That would be really sweet. I'm a doctor so I might not always be at home, but I'll leave your name with my door man and housekeeper. You can leave the package with them,"

"Alright."

Grace ordered a few more books that were either sold out or not available at the moment. Ana promised her to deliver those books as soon as they arrived. Pleased and satisfied, the ladies left.

**.**

**.**

**A few days passed.** The Steele House finally got their monthly book shipment. Ana gathered the books Grace had ordered before packing them nicely. "You know we have delivery guys who can deliver that package to the customer," Caleb stated pointed at the package in Ana's hand.

"I know we do, Caleb, but I liked this customer a lot when she had come here. I kind of promised that I'd personally deliver the package," Ana informed with a sheepish shrug.

"You're always adding to your favorite customer's list. One day, you'll end up with all of our customers on that list," he said smirking, "then you'll have to personally deliver to ALL of them."

"Whatever," she poked her tongue out at him before heading out.

"Take your car!" she heard Caleb yelling.

"As you say, my friend. I'll definitely take my bicycle," Ana replied with a rebellious smile.

Placing the parcel in the front basket of her bright red bicycle, Ana headed out. She was wearing a white cotton sleeveless knee length dress with a brown side bag and cheetah printed high block heeled pumps. Singing under her breath, she started peddling. She had the Google map on in her phone which was placed on top of the parcel in the basket of the bike. Every so often, she would stop and look at it. She was only a few miles away from the address Grace had given when she looked at the map without stopping her bike, not noticing the car coming right towards her. The sound of a car screeching to a sudden stop caused her to look up and gasp in horror. She wasn't able to stop her bike in time and it bumped right into the black Mercedes. The bike crashed sideways, causing Ana to fall and hit her head on a rock at the side of the road. Instantly, she blacked out.

"Damn it! Wake up! Can you hear me? Hello?" she heard someone saying.

Moaning a little, she grabbed her head. "Ouch! That jerk-face totally jinxed me," she muttered under her breath. The sound of a man chuckling finally made her open her eyes. A handsome older man was kneeling before her prone form. He was blonde with some grey hair at the edge of his hairline, a strong jaw, and deep blue eyes.

"Hey there," he greeted helping her sit up.

"Hey? Was that… your car I just bumped into?" Ana asked hesitantly.

"Unfortunately," the man muttered running his fingers through his hair.

"I'm really sorry about that. I wasn't looking. I should've stopped my bike to look at the map, instead of…" Ana trailed off, ashamed.

"What?!" the man looked surprised. Usually when people see nice cars, they try to put the blame on the car's owner to get money.

"Give me your insurance details. I'll pay for all the damages I caused," Ana said, wincing as she tried to get up. The man stood up with a bewildered look on his face. Ana noticed absentmindedly that he was quite tall. With a startled gasp, she fell again.

"Are you okay? How did you fall?" the man asked, kneeling down again.

"I think I hurt my ankle," Ana said with a grimace.

The man sighed. "It wasn't just your fault this accident happened. It was my fault too. Let me take you to the hospital, please," the man insisted.

"It's okay. I can go after I'm done delivering that package," Ana said waving her hand as she tried to get up on her feet and fell… again.

"Yeah… nope. That's not happening. We're going to the hospital," the man insisted.

"I can't. I promised this customer that I'll deliver her package personally the very day I get these books," Ana said gesturing towards the package lying before her bike's basket.

The man stared at her in disbelief. "What is the address you need to deliver that package?" he asked.

"Uh… Mister, you seem like a good person, but… you see… I don't know you and I don't feel comfortable giving you someone's address," Ana said apologetically.

The man laughed. "Hi, I'm Carrick Grey. I'm a lawyer," he said introducing himself as he pulled out a business card.

Taking the card from him, Ana read it. "Grey… something about this surname seems… familiar," she said tilting her head. "Okay, I'll give you the address… only if you promise me that you won't hurt the family even if you're a criminal," she said sternly. Laughing, the man helped her to his car. "My bike is foldable. You can put it in the trunk," Ana told Carrick.

"Sure. So, what's your name?" Carrick asked after handing her the packages.

"I'm Ana Steele. I own the Steele Tower and co-own all the businesses there," Ana replied before wincing. She had a bad habit of oversharing personal details with strangers. Her dad and uncle had always scolded her for that.

"The Steele Tower?! Wow. I've heard great things about it from both my wife and daughter. Hmm… now that I think about it… I think I heard my younger son say something about it the other day too," he said thoughtfully getting in the car. "So, what's the address?" he asked.

"Here," Ana handed him the paper with the address on it. Seeing the address, Carrick barked out a laugh. "Why are you laughing?" Ana asked, a little offended.

"Nothing. I just know this address really well," he said mysteriously before he started driving.

"How do you know this address?" Ana asked, narrowing her eyes.

"You'll see," Carrick said with a smirk.

"I really should start listening to my dad and uncle," Ana said with a defeated sigh. She was already in a stranger's car and she didn't think she could stop him if he wanted to hurt her.

"What do they say?" Carrick asked, curious.

"Not to share personal details to strangers… and don't get in any stranger's car," Ana muttered, blushing.

"I keep saying that to my daughter too," he said with a laugh.

Soon, the car drew into the driveway of a colonial-style mansion. It was breathtaking, even down to the roses around the door… picture-book perfect.

Carrick pulled up outside the impressive front door. "We're here," he announced.

"Wow… it's a beautiful home," Ana commented.

"It's home," Carrick said modestly. Ana gave him a puzzled look. "Looks like people are home. Let's go in," he said stepping out.

"How about we just knock on the door … instead of going in without permission?" Ana suggested. She didn't understand why this man thought it was okay to get inside someone's house without permission.

"Don't be a coward, Ana. It'll be fun watching their reaction. Come on!" he urged opening her door.

"B-but…"

"Come on, coward," Carrick laughed helping her walk inside the house.

"I don't think it's a good idea," Ana moaned in distress as they walked through the beautiful entrance of the house.

Carrick led her to the living room and called out, "GRACE!? MIA?!"

Ana gasped in surprise. "Whoa! You KNOW them?! So that's why you walked in like this," she said, relieved. Carrick just gave her an amused smile.

"Didn't you just head out a few minutes ago?" Ana heard a familiar voice say. A moment later, Grace entered the room. "Why did you…" she started to ask when she noticed Ana, "Ana, dear! What happened?" she rushed to Ana and started examining her.

"Her bike crashed into my car," Carrick explained.

"I was coming here to deliver those books your ordered. I don't know this area too well, so I was using Google maps on my phone. I was looking at it when Mr. Grey's car came along. It was my fault," Ana said, ashamed. Suddenly a realization hit her. "Wait a minute! Mr… Grey… Grace Grey…OH!"

"FINALLY!" Carrick said laughing.

"What's going on? MIA! HONEY, CAN YOU GET THE FIRST AID BOX PLEASE?!" Grace called out as she ushered Ana to the nearest couch.

"OKAY, MOM," answered Mia from another room. A few seconds later, she came to the living room. "Hey, Ana!" she greeted with a wide smile. "Wait… What happened to you?" she asked taking a seat beside Ana.

Carrick started explaining the event as Grace started cleaning up Ana's wounds. "But the funniest thing about this whole thing is… she didn't even know who I am," Carrick started snickering as Ana blushed in embarrassment.

"How was I supposed to know?" Ana moaned.

"She totally flipped out when we walked in. She thought I was a criminal determined to hurt you," he had tears in his eyes from laughing too much.

"Darling! You're embarrassing the poor girl!" Grace scolded mildly.

By the time Ana parted with the Greys, she was friends with all of them. Mia was happy to have another friend. Grace was happy to meet such a cheerful and mature girl, and she invited Ana to their weekly mother-daughter brunch. Carrick was really pleased to meet an honest girl. His years of experience as a lawyer told him that Ana was a good girl and he loved that she seemed to bring out his fun side.

**.**

**.**

**The next day** even though Ana was late as usual, she was in a cheerful mood. Her sprained ankle and mild concussion didn't stop her from coming downstairs to their daily meeting. Stumbling out of the elevator, Ana snickered to herself. "Wow! I seem to stumble when I've a sprained ankle and also when I DON'T have a sprained ankle." She glanced at her foot where she had wrapped the crepe bandage as the doctor had ordered.

"ANA! Why are you down here today?" Carla scolded as she and Bill got up to help her to her seat.

"What do you mean why am I here? I'm here for the meeting," Ana replied with a confused smile.

"The doctor told you to rest your feet. Take a few days off and rest with your feet up, honey," Carla ordered worriedly.

"I agree with Carla, Ana. You shouldn't be putting pressure on your feet just yet," Liam said from the side while the others nodded in agreement.

"Yes, Ana. Let me help you upstairs," Kate offered.

Ana narrowed her eyes and stared at her friends. All of them seemed oddly determined to send her upstairs to her loft. "Is there a reason you want me to go back to my loft?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yes. You sprained your foot," Carla replied, deadpan.

"But, mom, it's so boring upstairs," Ana whined.

"Why don't you have a movie marathon? Or take a few of the new historical romance books? You love them, right?" Caleb suggested with a kind smile.

"I like the book idea. Gather them for me. I can read them in one of the corner table here. I promise I'll keep my feet up," Ana suggested with a giddy smile, but her smiled dimmed a bit when she noticed the uneasy look everyone around her exchanged.

Before she could demand an answer, Carla suggested, "Hey, I just remembered. Baby girl, why don't you go to meet your uncle today? I was supposed to go, but I guess you can visit him in my place."

"Not that I won't love to visit Uncle Jake, but I sprained my ankle as you reminded me earlier. Won't it be strenuous for my feet? I can go a few days later when my feet won't hurt anymore," Ana said with a slight frown.

"Hey, Ana? Why don't we have our special film marathons today?" Alyssa suggested with a wink.

"Other than my feet, is there ANY other reason why ALL of you want me to go away from here?" Ana asked folding her hands over her chest.

"The new owner of Grey Publishing, formerly SIP, is coming here today to check out the place as their newly released books would soon be arriving in our shop," Caleb explained with a sigh.

"Kate told us about your mutual hatred for each other. So, we thought it would be a good idea to keep you two away from each other," Bill added bluntly.

"So, I'm being sent away to accommodate that… ASSHOLE!" Ana exploded in disbelief.

"Basically… yes. That's what's happening," Bill replied with sage nod while Tom glared at his younger twin.

Shooting an annoyed look at Bill, Kate explained, "Look, Ana. They are now our clients. We've got to keep our personal issues away from business matters. Caleb, Liam, Carla, and I will be here to handle this. You don't need to be here."

"We really don't want you to have another argument with him today, and the best way to avoid it would be if you go back upstairs and rest," Liam added.

Glancing at everyone's faces, Ana huffed angrily. "Fine. I'm going back," she wanted to storm off, but it wasn't possible with the pain in her feet. So, she stumbled away from the library to the elevator. Changing into a white lace crop top and matching shorts, Ana settled on the couch with her laptop. "This has never happened before. My own mother and best friends wanted me gone. All of this only to please that asshole. He's the one responsible," Ana spat angrily. Suddenly, an idea came to her. Grinning, Ana opened the desired website and started typing as an evil smile graced her face. Pressing the send button, Ana folded her hands over as chest and smirked. "You forced me to get out of my place. NOW… you have to get out of yours!"

**.**

**.**

**.**

**A/N: Can you guess what Ana could have done to get Christian out of his place? Let me know your guesses in the review and also your thoughts on this chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

***** A few important things: **

I know some of you might think that this Ana is childish and impulsive. That's true. That's what she is. She is absolutely different from the Ana in mystery of Steele hearts. This Ana is childish, naïve, quarrelsome, and too-trusting. She doesn't may attention to gut instinct and will fall in a lot of trouble because of that. She has a serious mind often, but Christian always brings her inner teenager out. Christian will be equally irritating. They will fight and argue and make you want to slap them both. I hope you would stay with them throughout their journey.

**DISCLAIMER: **** Fifty shades of Grey or its' characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.**

**Thanks so much to my awesome Beta, Ninkita**

**.**

***Information:***

Ana and her friends = 24 years old

Christian = 28 years old

Mia = 22 years old

Elliot = 30 years old

**.**

**Previously:**

Changing into a white lace crop top and matching shorts, Ana settled on the couch with her laptop. "This has never happened before. My own mother and best friends wanted me gone. All of this only to please that asshole. He's the one responsible," Ana spat angrily. Suddenly, an idea came to her. Grinning, Ana opened the desired website and started typing as an evil smile graced her face. Pressing the send button, Ana folded her hands over as chest and smirked. "You forced me to get out of my place. NOW… you have to get out of yours!"

**.**

**.**

**Chapter -4:**

**.**

**.**

Christian's days were usually busy. That day was no different either. He had finally managed to get some time to visit the book store where his new publication house's newly released books would be available first, along with several book signings. He was really impressed by the setup he had witnessed. It was a happy co-incidence that there was a book signing going on at the first floor. So, Christian was able to scrutinize it properly and he was satisfied with what he found. There was another reason he was relaxed. Before going there, he had been dreading his meeting with Ms. Steele, but upon arriving he learned that she had been in a minor accident the day before and wouldn't be present at the meeting as she was resting upstairs in her loft. He felt bad that she was injured, but he relaxed marginally knowing that he wouldn't have to deal with her.

As he stepped out of the elevator, he paused right in front of his penthouse's door to unbutton his jacket. Taylor, Christian's head of security and his CPO, stepped beside him and waited. Suddenly, both men were startled by the sound of Gail cursing someone and the clatter of hurried footsteps. Gail was Christian's housekeeper and Taylor's fiancé. She was a really patient, soft-hearted, and kind woman. So, hearing her cursing someone surprised both men. The footsteps drew closer, but there was only one set of them.

"Who on earth is she chasing?" Christian asked Taylor, confused. Taylor shook his head and shrugged.

Curious, Taylor opened the door and they entered the penthouse. They had to wait only a few seconds before it became clear to them that Gail wasn't pursuing a "who" but a "what." The furry, slithery body of a ferret came loping through the penthouse with a grey silk tie clamped in its mouth.

"What the fuck?!" Christian exclaimed at the sight of the small carnivorous mammal streaking toward them. If he lived in a house near some forest, he would've been able to think that the ferret came inside by mistake, but he lived in a high-rise penthouse and seeing a random animal in here was not normal. "Where did it come from?" he asked Gail, who had come to a stop. Hearing his voice, the ferret stopped and stared at him thoughtfully with bright, beady eyes.

"A delivery came for you a few hours ago. He was inside it. When I picked up the box to take it to your room, it fell from my hand and he came out. I've been running behind him since then," Gail explained, apologetically.

"Taylor, can you catch it? And who the hell thought it was a good idea to send someone a rodent?" Christian pinched the bridge of his nose, frustrated.

Crouching on the floor, Taylor gave a low whistle and a few clicks of his tongue. "Come here. You've caused enough trouble. You seem to have a taste for… silk tie? Is that what you're holding?" he said casually. The ferret took a few steps towards Taylor before glancing at Christian and then hurried towards the couch instead.

"Seriously?!" Christian stared in disbelief.

"He doesn't seem to be completely domesticated," Taylor stated standing up. "We should inspect the box he came in," he added.

"What should we do with him till then?" Gail asked, frowning.

"Let him be for now. Let's go," Christian said, shaking his head.

They gathered in the dining room after Gail brought the empty paper parcel box. "Here," she said handing Christian the box. "This was inside. I didn't open it," she added, showing him a purple envelope.

Christian inspected the box thoroughly but he found nothing. Handing the paper box to Taylor, Christian opened the envelope. There was a card inside with a small massage on it. He read:

"_**Mr. Christian,**_

_**This is my gift to you for the things you did to me.**_

_**Secret Admirer"**_

"What I did to this person… what?" Christian was more confused after reading the card.

"Sir, there's an IP address from which this parcel was ordered from. I think we should let Welch check it out to find who this person is," Taylor advised.

Nodding, Christian walked out of the room. Reaching the living room, he stopped cold as his eyes fell on his snow-white velvet sectional couch. He saw bits of fluff and clumps of horsehair being tossed in the air by the ferret. "Wow. He's eating my couch," Christian muttered sarcastically.

Taylor came out of the dining room to head to the security room when he also noticed the couch. Instantly, he blanched. "Yikes," he whispered. "It seems he's trying to make a nest for himself," he said louder, staring at the ferret who was having a grand time destroying the branded couch. "Should I remove him?" he asked his boss.

"The couch is already ruined. Let him have at it," Christian said with a sigh. "I'm going to my room," he said, shooting one last glance at the ferret.

**.**

His tense muscles finally relaxed after taking a long hot shower. Wrapping a towel around his waist, Christian stepped out of the bathroom as he rubbed another towel against his hair. Suddenly from the corner of his eye, he noticed a long, slender body wriggling its way inside the closet. Christian kept observing it with a frown. The ferret seemed to look at everything curiously before heading back out, dissatisfied. Curious, Christian followed the animal only to find it on the bed now. It was crawling towards his cell phone.

"Hey," he shouted causing the ferret to stop and turn to look at him. Then, keeping a wary eye on him, the ferret grabbed Christian's cell phone. When Christian didn't say anything, the ferret started to lope slowly around the edge of the bed before jumping off the bed. At his safe landing with the cell, the ferret wriggled in triumph. Christian didn't know why he was standing still to observe the creature while it stole his cell phone right in front of him. Reaching the threshold on the room, with a triumphant chatter the ferret started doing a happy war dance that consisted a series of sideways hops. Clearly, he was delighted by his new acquisition, and even more by the fact that he had managed to steal it in front of Christian. A reluctant smile graced Christian's face before he recalled that his phone was really important and that damn ferret had just run away with it.

"SHIT! Idiot!" Christian cursed before he hurriedly changed into a pair of pajama pants and ran after the ferret. "Taylor!" he called out reaching the hallway. "Taylor!"

"Yes, Mr. Grey?' Taylor answered, peeking his head out of the security room.

"That damn weasel ran way with my phone," Christian grumbled. "According to Google, now he'll spend hours teasing us with that and keeping it just out of reach. He might also try to hide it."

"Did you see which direction it went?" Taylor inquired joining his boss.

"No."

They spend the next half an hour chasing the ferret. Every so often the ferret would pause at a corner, check to make certain he was still being chased, and in his happy excitement, he would do a little war dance, a series of sideways hops that expressed pure delight. Then, he would start running again. Finally, they lost the ferret. "Let me call your phone. We can follow the sound," Taylor suggested, out of breath from all the running. Christian nodded in agreement.

The familiar ringtone of Christian's phone came from the living room. Exchanging a look, the men followed the sound. They found the ferret standing in front of the couch. Staring at the ferret, Taylor sat on the carpet and relaxed his voice. "Come here, you flea-ridden creature. I'll give you all the sugar cookies you want, if you give me your new toy," he whistled softly and clicked. But the offer did not work. The ferret merely regarded him with bright eyes and stayed in place, clutching the phone in its tiny paws.

"We need to make an exchange I think," Christian suggested before heading to the kitchen where Gail was preparing dinner. "Gail, do we have any shiny cloth or scarf?" he asked.

"No, Mr. Grey," Gail replied shaking her head.

"Okay. Do we have sugar cookies?"

"We do, Mr. Grey." Hurriedly, Gail pulled out a container. "Here," she said.

Christian took two cookies and went back to the living room. Taylor was in the same position as before. "Here. Try this," Christian said handing Taylor the cookies.

"See, I've got cookies for you," Taylor said in a calm voice as he waved his hand in the air. The ferret's little head bobbed as it followed every movement of Taylor's hand. Fitting the phone in his mouth, the ferret started loping up to Taylor slowly. "This is a trade, old fellow," Taylor told him. "You can't have something for nothing." Carefully, the ferret placed the phone down and reached for the cookies. Taylor simultaneously gave him the cookies and snatched up the phone.

"Thank you, Jason," Christian said with a relieved smile.

"No problem, sir. By the way, Welch called. He found the location of the IP address that package was ordered from."

"Okay," Christian nodded. Taylor went back to the security room. With a sigh, Christian sat on one corner of the couch. Swiftly, he found Welch's number and called.

"Good evening, Mr. Grey, sir," Welch greeted from the other end.

"Welch, what did you find?"

"Sir, the package was ordered from a local pet rescue and the IP address that ordered it belongs to a private laptop. The owner of the laptop is one Ms. Anastasia Steele," Welch informed.

"Anast… that irritating woman!" Christian growled.

"Do you want me to give you her address?"

"Don't bother. I have it," Christian said, barely holding onto his calm. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed the ferret was slowly crawling towards him. With a frown, he watched the creature as it made itself comfortable in his new home… on Christian's lap!

"Sir… um… may I suggest something… if you don't mind?" he heard Welch say from the other side.

"What is it?" Christian asked, shaking his head in disbelief. Why this creature thought he would NOT throw him off his lap was a mystery to Christian.

"I think you should put off going to Ms. Steele's place till tomorrow morning," Welch suggested hesitantly.

"Why?" Christian asked, growling.

"I can guess that you might be extremely angry at the moment, and going to someone's house this late at night just doesn't seem like a good idea. Since it's Saturday tomorrow, you won't have to come to office, so you will be able to resolve this matter properly," Welch said softly.

With a big sigh, Christian said 'bye' to Welch and hung up. Looking down at the sleeping ferret on his lap, he said to himself, "Now… what to do with you?" Feeling like he needed a drink to fall asleep, he went to get up, but then remembered the creature on his lap. Cradling it in his arms, he went to the wet bar. Finding no place to put the ferret down, he hung the creature on his shoulder like a scarf before he poured himself some good brandy. Swallowing the contents of his glass, he went back to his bedroom. When he went to get on the bed, he again recalled the creature around his neck. Sighing, he pulled the ferret from his neck, cradling it against his midriff. The ferret's eyes remained closed; lids completely concealed in the black mask that crossed its face. He could feel the tapping of its tiny heartbeat beneath his fingertips, the silkiness of the white undercoat beneath the overlying guard hairs.

A sudden rush of affection went through Christian. "You're not so bad when you're asleep," he said to the sleeping creature in his arms with a slight smile. He settled it onto the pillow beside his own. The ferret remained asleep, limp as a rag. Smirking, Christian climbed onto the bed and placing a pillow between his own body and the ferret's, he closed his eyes.

**.**

**.**

Since Ana was not allowed to go downstairs and was forced to rest, she had changed into her comfort outfit this morning. She was wearing a purple meow hoodie and shorts set with purple fluffy cat ear headband and matching purple fluffy bunny slippers. She was making creamy crepes with strawberries and bananas while blasting her favorite song 'Dracula's wedding by OutKast' and moving her hips along. Since her feet still hurt, she wasn't able to dance as she wanted.

"You're all I've ever wanted  
But I'm terrified of you  
See, my castle may be haunted  
But I'm terrified of you  
I've cast my spell on millions  
But I'm terrified of you  
Baby, I do this from the ceiling  
But I'm terrified of you

I wait my whole life to bite the right one  
Then you come along and that freaks me out  
So I'm frightened  
Dracula's wedding

I never ran from no one  
But I'm terrified of you  
See, my heartbeat is a slow one  
But I'm terrified of you  
I've been around for ages  
But I'm terrified of you  
Drag my thing across the stage  
But yet I'm terrified of you

I wait my whole life to bite the right one  
Then you come along and that freaks me out  
So I'm frightened  
Dracula's wedding

You know I'm terrified  
You know I'm terrified  
You know I'm terrified  
Shh, here she comes

Give me the chance to dance romance  
Don't run, I'm not the sun  
So much at stake  
Oh, bad choice of words  
But I'm not the gun  
With silver bullets  
And I can count (1, 2,3)  
Plus I make great peanut butter & jelly sandwiches  
Van Helsing

For richer or poorer  
Through sickness and in health  
'Til death do us part  
'Til death do us part  
You only live once  
Well, not in our case  
'Cause we live forever"

Since the song was playing so loud, she didn't hear the banging on her door, until the song ended. "It's only 8 am. Everyone wants me to stay and rest as they take care of everything in the building. Who could be banging on my door? Is it dad? But he was just here last night," Ana said titling her head. "Let's find out who is it."

Turning the stove off, she went to the door. Looking through the peephole, Ana couldn't stop her burst of laughter. "He looks pissed," she said between her snickers. Finally, she managed to control her laughter to open the door. "Good morning, Mr. Cree…uh… Grey. How can I help you?" Ana asked leaning against the door. She had the same smile on her face that a shark had before it eats its prey.

"We're business partners now. I thought we decided to forget about our past arguments… but then you send _**HIM**_ to me," Christian said showing the ferret in the pet carrier bag.

"Him? But I ordered a female one," Ana said peeking at the carrier. "Hey, little one. You had fun?" she cooed at the ferret. The ferret replied in happy chatters of its own. Christian stared in disbelief as the female and the animal interacted. "I think you've been punished enough. You can leave him with me and I'll return him to the rescue shelter," Ana offered. "You had breakfast yet?" she inquired.

"What punishment are you talking about, you impossible woman?" Christian asked, puzzled.

"Come in! You can argue inside. So… breakfast?" Ana asked, limping inside.

Christian followed behind her, finally noticing the crepe bandage on her feet and other scars and wounds on Ana's knees, forehead, and cheek. "I heard you got into an accident. Are you okay now?" he asked politely.

"It was just a small accident," Ana waved her hand dismissively. "Let him out and have a seat."

"Now, tell me. What punishment were you talking about earlier?" he demanded taking a seat at the small breakfast nook.

"Because of you, I was sent back home like a child. When that didn't work, they suggested that I go to visit my uncle seconds after telling me that I needed to keep my feet up. All of this so that I wouldn't argue with you," Ana ranted. "So, I did what any rational person would do. I decided to take revenge," she finished, placing a plate in front of him.

Christian felt stunned for a second. "Okay. Let's say I understand your point of view, which I don't by the way, but why did you send me this offending rodent? You could have sent me a cat, instead. This creature ruined my three thousand dollar couch. It made a nest in there in just a few hours," Christian said shaking his head. "Thanks for the breakfast, though," he added taking a bite of the crepe.

"Ferrets are not rodents, actually," Ana said taking a seat in front of him. "They're classified as mustelidae… weasels. So, you can say the ferret is a distant cousin of the mouse," she informed.

"It's a family I didn't want to become closely acquainted with," Christian deadpanned.

"You're a billionaire, anyway. So, you can buy as many new couches as you want," she added offhandedly.

"That's not the point," Christian grumbled.

Ana started snickering. "I wish I could have seen your face at the time," she said.

Giving her a glare in answer, he went back to eating. "Thanks for the food. Why did you offer though? From what you said, I thought you hate me," he asked sipping on a cup of coffee.

"Hate is a strong word. I don't hate you. I just strongly dislike you," Ana explained.

"You're an adult. What kind of adult sends an animal to someone's house?" Christian asked scowling.

"Were you extremely frustrated?" Ana asked instead.

"Of course, I was."

"Then I'm satisfied," Ana replied with a smirk. That's when she noticed the ferret. It seemed really enamored with Christian, despite or perhaps because of his obvious antipathy. It had draped itself across the arm of the couch and pinned a love-struck gaze on him, even though he ignored the ferret. "I didn't think it would get attached in one night. I feel bad that he'll have to go back to the rescue."

"How does it work?" Christian asked, curious.

"The recue shelter gives pets for trial runs to see if the person can manage. If the person likes and bonds with the animal, they adopt them," Ana informed. "I would've kept him, but I don't have a proper place to keep his cage," she pouts.

Glancing behind him at the ferret who was giving him its version of puppy eyes, Christian sighed. "I guess… I guess I can keep him. He's not… all that bad. He was really cute last night," he smiled a little.

"Where did he sleep?" Ana asked.

"On my bed," he said, acting like it was no big deal.

Wide eyed, Ana stared at him. "Really?! Huh! I misjudged you. I thought you were a complete snob. I guess not," she said thoughtfully earning another glare from the man. "Anyways, where would you keep him? He might ruin more of your furniture if he doesn't have his own place," she warned.

"I have extra rooms at my penthouse. It won't take much to turn one of the rooms into his sanctuary," Christian muttered.

"Are you sure? You don't have to keep him."

"You did send him to me. I'll keep him, so that I can remember what YOU did and I can plan my revenge," he said raising his eyebrow.

Ana laughed and nodded. "Good luck. I'm the queen prankster. No one can top me."

"Is that so? You don't know me yet. It's a challenge, then. Let the best one win?" Christian said smugly.

"Awesome," Ana smirked back. Suddenly a thought came to her mind. "Wait… your surname is Grey, right? That's strange…. for the last few weeks, I've been meeting a lot of people with that same last name," she said, frowning.

"What do you mean?" Christian inquired distractedly as he looked around for the ferret.

"First, I met you. Then a few days later, I met a mother-daughter pair, lovely ladies, and then I had that accident with an older man's car. He also had the surname 'Grey'. Though he did turn out to be related to that mother-daughter," Ana laughed.

"Do you know their names?" Christian asked, pausing his search for his new pet.

"Grace Grey was the mother. She's a really kind lady. She reminded me of my mom. Mia Grey is her daughter, lovely girl, and Carrick Grey is her husband. He is such a prankster. For a lawyer, he was really cool," Ana said chuckling.

"What is happening? First, we met 3 times in 2 days, and then one by one, you met my family members? What the hell?!"

"YOUR FAMILY?! What?! Seriously?! How? I swear I didn't know they were related to you," Ana exclaimed in shock.

"That's okay. You had an accident with my dad's car? How did that happen? He's an excellent driver," he said talking a seat on the couch. He was having a hard time believing this. _**'And why didn't I hear about it?'**_ he wondered.

"It was actually my fault. I was going to your parent's house to deliver some books your mom had ordered. I don't know the area properly so I was looking down at my phone for Google maps when his car came around the corner. He managed to brake the car, but I didn't. Then… CRASH!" Ana exclaimed slapping her palms together dramatically. "I ended up with a sprained ankle and a concussion," she added with a grimace.

Christian felt a sudden rush of concern for the girl. _**'Could it be… that her concussion made her do such a prank?!' **_he wondered. "You do know it wasn't my fault you were sent up here to rest, right?" he asked seriously.

"It was your fault," Ana insisted, joining him on the opposite end of the couch.

"Even if that's why you were sent up, it's for a good cause. Can you imagine what kind of image we would've cast for our subordinates if they saw us fighting publicly? We fight every time we meet. It doesn't look good in business," Christian scolded. Ana pouted in response. _**'She's rather cute'**_ Christian thought as he gazed at her fake cat ears.

Suddenly a smile graced Ana's face. She looked fairly excited. "How about we make a deal?" she suggested.

"What deal?" Christian inquired with a frown.

"We'll fight only when we're not near outsiders. For the outsiders, we can behave like friends," she proposed excitedly.

Thinking about the offer, Christian found himself nodding. "I like that idea. Let's do it," he said.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Seeing Christian returning with the pet carrier, Taylor stood up straight and gave his boss a puzzled look. "Sir?" he asked.

Giving him a sheepish look, Christian said, "I'm keeping him."

"Really?!" Taylor asked in shock.

"He's not so bad… just a little mischievous," Christian said with a shrug.

"If you're sure, Mr. Grey. Was everything okay with… Ms. Steele?" Taylor asked opening the car door.

Christian rolled his eyes. "She's suffering from concussion caused by a recent accident," he said. "That's the only logical reason I can find for her behavior," he added entering the car.

"Why did she send this creature?" Taylor asked curious.

"Let's not talk about it. Anyways, go to the nearest pet store. I want to build a ferret habitat for this little one. I think… I should name it. I also need to contact that rescue shelter to complete the formalities to adopt him," Christian said.

"I think you should go to the rescue shelter first. Once you've formally adopted him, you can shop for the cages and stuff," Taylor suggested.

"Good idea. Oh… Taylor, we need to go to my parents' house after the shelter. It seems my dad had an accident a few days ago," Christian said.

"Accident, sir?"

"Hmm… I wonder why mom didn't tell me."

"Where did you hear about it?" Taylor asked, looking at Christian through the rearview mirror.

"Ms. Steele and dad were in that accident. She crashed into dad's car, from what she said," Christian informed. Taylor nodded in understanding.

**.**

It took him close to 90 minutes to finish his business with the rescue shelter. The workers there were really fond of the ferret and they all wanted to say their goodbyes. By the time Christian finished signing all the paperwork, Taylor was loaded with soft toys for the ferret.

"Wow, this little fellow is more popular than that Justin Bieber guy," Taylor commented after he managed to get all the toys inside the trunk of the car. Christian smirked in response as he started going over the paper he had been given by the shelter. It held details on how to prepare a ferret cage.

Soon after, they went to Christian's parents' house. As soon as Taylor opened his car door, Christian headed inside, but not before telling Taylor, "Look after him."

"Welcome, Mr. Christian," Gretchen, his parents' housekeeper, said fluttering her eyelashes rapidly.

"Is something wrong with your eyes? Why are you blinking so rapidly?" Christian asked, frowning.

"Um… no," the woman looked confused by his question.

"Whatever… are mom and dad home?" Christian asked waving his hand.

"No, Mr. Christian. Mrs. Grey is on a 36 hours rotation this week starting today and Mr. Grey has some big case so he informed he will late. Mr. Elliot and Ms. Mia are home, though."

"Okay. Thanks," Christian headed straight to the game room knowing that's where he'd find his siblings. "Hey guys," he greeted entering the room where Mia and Elliot were playing some war game online while cursing loudly. "You are lucky that mom isn't home. She would've washed your mouths with soap," he commented as he took a seat behind them.

"Hey, Chris," Mia greeted without looking back.

"Hey, little bro. Join us, man. Some kid in China is kicking our asses," Elliot said whining.

Snickering, Christian replied, "Hell no! I'm not wasting my time playing games online. Mia, I heard dad was in an accident? Is he okay?"

"Dad's fine. Only Ana was hurt. Her bike crashed into dad's car," Mia informed, "Where did you hear it from though?"

"Ms. Steele told me," Christian answered.

Pausing the game, Mia turned around, "You know Ana?" she asked.

"MI -AA!" Elliot whined.

"Shush," she scolded her older brother before turning her attention to her other brother. "Tell me," she demanded.

"She's my new business partner. My publication house made a deal with her book store / library," Christian answered in a bored tone.

"How cool! Other than Elliot, all of us know Ana," Mia said grinning.

"Who's Ana?" Elliot asked, confused.

"Ice-cream girl," Christian replied with a smirk.

"Ice-cream girl? What do you mean?" Mia asked, puzzled.

"Don't worry about that. Concentrate on the game. That kid is still kicking our asses," Elliot said pointing at the screen and successfully distracting their sister. As soon as Mia turned to look at the screen, Elliot shot a smirk in his brother's direction, who rolled his eyes in answer.

**.**

**.**

Christian returned home after spending a few hours with his siblings and another hour at the pet store. After letting Gail know about his decision to adopt Dodger, the ferret, Taylor and Christian spent the rest of the day putting together the large ferret habitat. They followed the instructions and blocked all the corners of the cage. They made a feeding area with water bowls on the left of the second floor of the cage. The sleeping area was on the same floor, along with a play area filled with soft toys and multiple hammocks. The third floor had another play area with a ball pit, a few hammocks, a few cat toys, and a large plastic tunnel that went through all the floors of the cage with entrances on every floor. On the lower floor, one side of the cage had a litter box and the other side had a large box of thinly cut paper that ferrets like to sleep on or inside, according to the shelter clerk. All three floors and each of the shelves had ramps between them. The floors and the ramps were covered with fleece liners.

Finally satisfied with the cage, Christian went to get Dodger. He was in the kitchen with Gail, chattering happily as if telling her about his day. Gail seemed to humor him and was saying "Really?", "Is that so?", and "that's interesting" at intervals.

Amused by the scene, Christian entered the kitchen. "I see you two have become friends," he commented with a smirk.

"I thought giving him attention would keep him busy. The new couch has arrived and been placed per instruction, Mr. Grey," Gail informed.

"They covered the underside and the underside has been boxed in?" Christian inquired.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Come on, Dodger. I'll take you to your new home." Holding Dodger by the scruff of his neck, Christian carried him to his new room. Taylor and Christian had added the old couch in this room for Dodger. "Here you go," he said placing Dodger inside the cage. Giving Christian a puzzled look, the ferret started exploring the cage. His excitement seemed to increase as he discovered each new thing. Finally, he seemed to decide to relax in one of the hammocks. Pleased that Dodger liked his new home, Christian and Taylor left after closing the cage.

"Did he like it?" Gail inquired curiously.

"He did. I want him to stay out when we're all home. Otherwise, he can stay in his cage. I don't want him to get hurt when we're not there to help. Mrs. Jones, you only have to make sure to check if he has water and food in there regularly during the day. I'll take care of the rest of his cage maintenance," Christian informed.

"I wouldn't mind taking care of his cage, Mr. Grey," Gail assured.

"I have no doubt that you wouldn't, Mrs. Jones, but I want to take care of him myself," Christian assured with a smile.

"So… we're spending hours chasing the new member of this apartment," Taylor stated with a sardonic smirk causing Christian to nod in agreement.

**.**

**.**

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**A/N: Thoughts?!**

**Don't forget to leave me a review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: **** Fifty shades of Grey or its characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.**

**Thanks so much to my awesome Beta, Ninkita**

**.**

***Information:***

Ana and her friends = 24 years old

Christian = 28 years old

Mia = 22 years old

Elliot = 30 years old

**.**

**.**

**Chapter -5:**

**.**

**.**

**Two weeks passed by. **Ana's ankle was finally better. So, she and Carla finally joined the Grey and Timber women's weekly brunch at Grace's insistence. It took the women no time to become comfortable with each other. The mothers started sharing funny childhood stories about their children, causing their daughters to blush and laugh awkwardly.

"And he used to run around the house butt naked," Grace said, snickering at the memory. Ana smirked as she recorded the conversation stealthily. She had got the perfect blackmail material on Christian.

"Ana used to think she was a kitten until she turned 5," Carla said shaking her head.

"MOM!" Ana protested, eyes widened. Everyone laughed as Ana blushed hard and hid her face behind her hair. She was wearing a black silk shirt with golden lace shorts, golden flat pumps and a black leather bag.

"Don't worry, honey. My Jessica used to love her red pumps so much that she would only wear those and nothing else. It used to take an hour long chase every single day to make her wear clothes," Elizabeth said with an amused smirk. Jessica winced before tried to look busy eating.

"My Mia was kind hearted from the moment she understood anything. Once she brought home a puppy because she thought its father was abusing it. Turned out, the daddy dog was just carrying him by the scruff of the puppy's neck," Grace said, fondly.

"How did you find out what had actually happen?" Ana asked curiously.

"It was our neighbor's dog," Grace replied with a chuckle.

"Oh, Grace! Didn't you ask me to remind you of something?" Elizabeth reminded.

"Oh, right! Carla, Ana, I would like to invite you for a party this Saturday. My husband's firm has completed 35 years since Carrick and his brother founded it. The dress code is formal," Grace said with a bright smile. "Here," she slid an invitation card in Carla's direction before handing another to Ana, "You both have to bring dates," she added with a smirk.

Carla smirked at her new friend. "Date, huh! I know this handsome hunk who would be a lovely date. I can get some after event specials," she winked.

"Ew, mom!" Ana shook her head in disgust, causing the older women to laugh.

"What! You know I think your dad's a sexy man," Carla teased her daughter some more.

"I'm glad you think so, mother," Ana whined a little.

"It's okay, Ana. As I still live with my parents, I often find them making out in every nook and cranny of our house," Mia sympathized.

"I saw my dad pinching mom's butt the other day. It was as if they forgot I was in the room with them," Jessica added shaking her head. The mothers kept snickering at their daughters' reactions.

"Girls, on behalf of all three of us, I can assure you that we want you to have a life partner who would flirt with you, tease you, and romance you even when you're old. That's the kind of life partners we want for you and what you should want for yourself. Someone who's in love with your very being, and not just your outer beauty," Grace stated affectionately.

"I agree," Carla said with a warm smile.

"Me too," Elizabeth added.

"But… how would we know which guy is attracted to our real self and not our outer beauty?" Mia asked.

"The guy you can fight with freely without the thought what he might think of you," Elizabeth said with a smirk.

"And especially if that guy fights back the same way," Grace added bumping her wine glass with Elizabeth's.

"Yeah. The fighting is amazing. The angry sex and the makeup sex are definitely worth it," Carla added with a smirk, at which Grace and Elizabeth nodded in agreement.

"And… they are back to sex," Ana muttered lowly so that only the girls could hear her.

"Girls, also make sure they can give you toe curling orgasms," Carla added.

Wanting to distract their mothers from this topic, Ana clapped her hands loudly. "I just got a brilliant idea. If you guys haven't got your dresses for the party yet, why don't we go shopping together?" she suggested.

"Yeah. That's an amazing idea," Mia and Jessica nodded vigorously.

Exchanging an amused glance with each other, the mothers shrugged in agreement knowing the girls wanted to change the topic. "Why don't we go today after we finish here?" Grace offered.

"YAY!" the girls cheered, relieved.

**.**

They went to a boutique and separated to browse. Ana chose a satin wine red gown with plunging neckline and a thigh-high slit on the right side. The dress hugged her curves in all the right places making her feel extremely sexy. Carla chose a mermaid style gown. The top part of the dress was decorated with colorful flower lace and the lower part held light beige flowing thick tulle. Mia chose a dark blue satin backless gown with twin straps that criss-crossed on the back and had a thigh-high slit. Grace chose a forest green off-shoulder gown in mermaid silhouette and scalloped sweetheart neckline. The bodice of the dress was embellished with matching green lace and stones. Jessica had chosen a rose gold sequined gown with deep v-neckline. Elizabeth chose a black gown with v neck. The bottom part of her dress was embellished with black and silver sequins.

"That was amazing! After moving to Seattle, I was never able to make any good friends with whom I can go shopping. Yeah, it's fun doing this with my Annie, but I missed having other friends," Carla said with a thankful smile.

"I agree with you. Having friends keeps the stress level down," Grace added with a smile.

"You didn't always live in Seattle?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"No, Ray and I used to live in Michigan. When I was pregnant with my Ana, my hormones were WAY out of control. I divorced my husband of 3 years because he forgot the extra cheese in the sandwich I ordered. In a fuss that I could take care of myself better, I moved to Seattle to my aunt's house 24 years ago. We've been here ever since," Carla said nostalgically.

"Did you really divorce your husband over cheese?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. That poor guy!"

"So, how did you share Ana's custody?" Grace asked, curious.

"Oh! He moved to Seattle the day after Ana was born and we were back together, but we didn't get married again," Carla said with a sheepish shrug.

"Wasn't he upset?"

"He was at first, but then as time went by and we lived in the same house for Ana's sake, we started feeling that same attraction for each other that made us get married in the first place."

"That's so romantic," Elizabeth cooed. Grace nodded in agreement.

"I think that incident made us stronger," Carla said with a happy sigh.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Christian knocked on the door before entering his father's office. "Hey, dad," he greeted.

"Christian! When Ms. Stone said you came, I thought I heard it wrong," Carrick said with a smirk.

"Come on, dad! I'm not that bad," Christian said taking a seat in front of his father.

"Is this a work meeting?" Carrick asked.

"NOOO! I wanted to see how you were doing," Christian shrugged.

"Hmm. When was the last time you voluntarily came to my office?"

"When I was 12 and I wanted to know where babies come from," Christian replied with a smirk.

"Yeah. You barged into my office and demanded loudly, 'Dad, where do babies come from?' Totally ignoring the fact that there were clients in my office," Carrick said giving his son a mocking glare. "So, what's the deal?"

"I just realized that it had been a while since you, me and Elliot did something together. The firm's 35th anniversary party is coming soon. Why don't we do something after that?" Christian proposed.

"That's a great idea, son! What are you thinking? Road trip, Vegas trip or something like that?"

"How about hiking or camping?" Christian suggested.

"Let's ask Elliot to join us for lunch and we can decide then?"

"Sounds good, dad."

**An hour later,** Elliot joined his father and younger brother in a restaurant close to Carrick's office. "What's up, old man?" Elliot greeted Carrick with a side hug. "Hey, little bro," he said messing Christian's hair.

"DUDE! Grow the fuck up, will you?" Christian growled as he ran his fingers through his hair.

Snickering, Elliot took a seat. "Huh!? How come we've never had lunch together like this before?" he asked.

"That's about to change. Christian and I have decided that we should do lunch or dinner once a week like your mom and Mia do. Anyways, Christian suggested that we should do something together after the anniversary party. What's your opinion on this?" Carrick asked sipping on his wine.

"Christian and I went hiking a few months back. Why don't we try that?" Elliot suggested.

"Hiking is good. I was thinking more like more like camping. Dad was thinking road trip," Christian informed.

"How about we make it a one weekend every month thing? We can go hiking and camping… let's say at the Rattlesnake ridge one weekend, and then the next month, we go on a short road trip," Elliot proposed.

"I like that idea," Carrick nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah. Once a month is doable," Christian said with a nod.

"YAY! It would be awesome! So, the weekend after the anniversary party we're going to a hiking at Rattlesnake ridge and then camping… but where?"

"There are some decent camping grounds near Rattlesnake ridge," Christian nodded.

"How about Middle Fork campground?" Carrick suggested.

"Sounds like a good place," both boys nodded.

"Just imagine. A few years later Mia's boyfriend could join us in these trips," Elliot mused, causing both his father and brother to glare at him.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Grace finished her makeup and went to the walk-in closet. Pulling her dress out of the black plastic bag, she hung it beside the large mirror. Kneeling down to pull out her matching shoes, she noticed that the knot on her silk robe had tangled badly. Keeping the silver high heels under the dress, she started fumbling with the stubborn knot. Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her. Although there was no other sound or sign of the visitor's identity, Grace knew who it was, even before he sank to his knees behind her. Strong fingers brushed hers away, and the knot was freed with a skillful tug.

A low, silken murmur caressed the sensitive skin of her neck. "I see we've hired a new maid. How delightful!" the man said lecherously. Nifty masculine hands slipped under her loosening silk robe and started caressing from her waist to her breasts. "What an amazing pair of breasts you have! I predict you'll do well here," he added brushing his lips against her ear.

Grace closed her eyes, leaning back between his spread thighs. A mouth, designed for sin and sensation, started wandering lightly over her neck. "I should probably warn you," the seductive voice continued, "to keep your distance from the owner of this house. He's a well-known pervert."

A smile came to her lips. "So I've heard. Is he as sinful as they say?" she asked, playfully.

"No… much worse. Especially when it comes to women with sandy colored hair and hazel eyes," he said plucking a few strands of her hair. "Poor dear! I'm afraid he won't leave you alone," he mocked.

Grace shivered in pleasure as she felt him kiss his way along the side of her neck as he moved the robe away with his lips. "H-how should I handle him?" she gasped out.

"You just have to let him have his way with you… frequently," he said in between kisses.

A helpless giggle escaped her as she twisted in his arms to face him. Even after more than three decades of marriage, Grace's heart still skipped a beat at the sight of her husband, Carrick Grey. He had matured into a magnificent man with a presence that both intimidated and dazzled everyone. His mere presence screamed considerable power, but Grace couldn't look into those remarkable deep blue eyes without recalling that he had once been the most passionate man alive... he still was. She could attest to that. Time had treated Carrick lovingly. He was a beautiful man, lean and elegant. His tawny-golden hair now lightly brushed with silver at the temples. Maturity had given him a look of cool, penetrating authority, the sense of a man who had seen and experienced enough that he could rarely, if ever, be outmaneuvered, but when something amused or touched him, his smile was both radiant and alluring.

"Oh, it's you," Carrick said in mock surprise, seeming to ponder how he had ended up kneeling on a rug with his wife in his arms. "I was prepared to corrupt a simple resisting maid, but you're a more difficult case," he stated with a sigh and shake of his head.

"You can corrupt me," Grace offered cheerfully, "I promise not to resist."

Her husband smiled, his glowing gaze moving gently over her hopeful face. He smoothed back a few escaping curls behind her ear. "My love, I've tried for thirty four years, but despite my dedicated efforts," a sweet kiss brushed against her lips, "you still have the innocent eyes of that nineteen year old girl I fell in love with. Can't you try to look at least a little bored? Cynical maybe?" He laughed quietly as Grace rolled her eyes and kissed her again, this time with a teasing, sensuous pressure that caused her pulse to race.

"Why did you come to find me?" Grace asked languorously, her head tilting back as his lips slid to her throat.

"I thought I would help you with your dress," Carrick tried to sound honest.

"Liar!" she accused, giggling as his hands busied themselves in removing her silk robe.

"You're such a perverted old man," Grace said breathlessly.

"Am I?" Carrick groped her breasts as he considered her words, "I'm the perverted one? No, my love, that can't be right. I'm sure it's you," he stated seriously. One would think he was discussing the weather.

"You are," she said unfalteringly, and her breath accelerated as one of his hand reached between her thighs.

"Hmm… This must be sorted out at once. I should take you straight to bed to find out," He said before moving away from her. Grabbing her hand, he led his wife to the bed. It took Grace one hour to convince Carrick that he was definitely the perverted one.

**.**

Grace had refreshed her makeup and re-pinned her hair before she pulled on her forest green off-shoulder mermaid gown. It hugged her curves perfectly. Carrick was standing a few steps behind her as his eyes roamed hungrily over her body. He eyed her bare shoulder and bit down on his lower lip. "Let me help you zip up," he offered in an innocent tone.

Grace stared at him suspiciously through the mirror as he approached her. Instead of zipping up her dress he spent the next minute running his fingers over the bare skin of her back. Grace always found it amusing and flattering that her husband still found her so attractive that sometimes he had trouble reining in his desires. "Honey, we'll be late," she reminded mildly.

"Don't worry. They can't start the party without us," Carrick replied without looking up, causing Grace to started snickering.

Suddenly the door of their bedroom banged opened as Mia entered. "MOM! DAD!" she called.

Grace went to answer when Carrick hissed, "Don't say anything. She'll go away." Grace rolled her eyes as she finishing putting on her diamond earrings. Carrick still hadn't zipped her dress up, she noticed casually.

Mia appeared at the closet and announced, "The guests will start arriving in half an hour. We should've been at the hotel by now."

"Why don't you head out before us with your brothers and welcome them?" Carrick suggested as he leaned down a little and placed a sucking kiss on Grace's shoulder.

"All right," Mia exclaimed, one arm firmly placed over her eyes, "That's my cue to leave. I'll wait in my room… or downstairs… or three universes away, where I'll never ever have to see my dad giving my mom a... hickie," she rushed away from the room, but not before bumping into a few things.

"I think I shocked her," Carrick mused staring at his daughter's retreating figure. Grace just gave him an amused look.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Almost all the guests had arrived at the party. The Grey family was scattered throughout the party to entertain their guests. Suddenly, Christian's eyes zeroed in on a familiar young woman in a wine red dress. Her cinnamon colored hair with caramel highlights was falling freely over her shoulders. Her satin dress was accentuating every curve of her body perfectly while showing off her right leg through the thigh high slit. Her delicious cleavage was framed by the plunging neckline. She had accessorized with a pair of gold snakeskin lace up heels, gold botanical leaf chandelier earrings with small diamonds, a gold leaf cuff bangle, a gold ruby ring on her index finger, and a gold embellished clutch.

She was standing in a little circle with his parents, his sister, and another older couple. Christian recognized Ana's mother, so he guessed the man must be her father. Mia was talking animatedly, no doubt about one of his childhood exploits if her fleeting mischievous looks toward him were any indication. He watched Ana throwing her head back in laughter. _**'God, she's beautiful!'**_ he thought absentmindedly. Shocked by his own thought, Christian shook his head before walking towards the group.

"Good evening, everyone," Christian greeted with a polite smile. "Ms. Steele," he nodded at Ana.

"Hey, Cr-uh... Mr. Grey," Ana stammered. She almost called him 'creep' in front of his family. "You already met my mom. This is my dad, Ray Steele," she introduced.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," Christian said shaking hands with Ray.

"You too, son. You parents and sister were regaling us with your childhood escapades," Ray informed with a smirk causing Christian to blush.

"All lies, I assure you," Christian replied honestly.

"Uh-huh?" Carrick gave his younger son an amused look.

"There's Elliot!" Mia exclaimed suddenly, "Ana, come. I'll introduce you," she grabbed Ana's hand and led her away from the group. "Christian, join us… or do you want to continue talking to the oldies?" Mia teased.

"Who are you calling old, little girl," Carrick growled causing his daughter to giggle.

Laughing, Christian excused himself from the group and joined Ana and Mia. "Elliot! Meet Ana, my new friend. This is Elliot, our older brother," Mia introduced.

"Ana… wait! You're ice-cream girl, aren't you?" Elliot said before looking at Christian for confirmation.

Ana shot Christian a look before turning to Elliot. "Hello, Elliot. I'm Ana. Only creeps call me 'ice-cream girl'. You aren't a creep, are you?" she asked keeping a smile on her face. Mia started snickering at the look on Elliot's stunned face. Christian also couldn't stop his lips from curving up.

"I-it's nice to meet you… Ana. Damn, you're a firecracker!" Elliot muttered. "Say, are you single?" he asked summoning his usual suave manner.

"I am, but you're not my type. I do have a friend who might be a good match for you," Ana said with a shrug.

"What does she look like?" Elliot inquired, intrigued.

"Tall, blonde, sexy, smart, and fierce," Ana described.

"SOLD!" Elliot grinned, "When can I meet her?"

"How about you meet us on our next night out?" Ana offered.

"You're the best wing man," Elliot grinned.

"HEY!" Christian protested from the side.

The music started and people started to gather at the dance floor. Squealing in excitement, Mia announced, "That's my favorite song!" and dragged Ana to the dance floor with her. They were soon joined by Jessica who had just arrived.

Christian didn't know why, but his eyes didn't want to leave the girl in the wine red dress. He watched as she laughed with his sister as they moved their arms and hips with the music. "She's one hot piece, man. It's no wonder your eyes won't leave her," he heard Elliot say smugly. Blinking rapidly, Christian turned to his brother. "What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded before grabbing a glass of alcohol from a passing waiter.

"I say you're crushing on ice… um Ana. She's a perfect for you," Elliot said sipping on his own drink.

"What perfect?! Do you have any idea what kind of lunatic she is?" Christian protested. "A few weeks ago, that crazy girl sent me a half-tamed ferret. If it wasn't so damn adorable, I would've sued her for this," he added.

"A…. ferret?! What?" Elliot was confused. "Why would she send you a ferret?" he asked.

"How would I know how her crazy brain works?" Christian huffed angrily before emptying his alcohol glass.

"So… you guys are still fighting?" Elliot asked.

"We are."

"But she didn't act like she was fighting with you."

"We decided not to fight in front of strangers," Christian muttered. Elliot gave his brother a blank look.

Ignoring his brother, Christian went back to stare at Ana. His eyes roamed over her lithe form and he could feel lust flowing through his body. Even though his brain and heart weren't interested in her, his body was quite interested. He wanted to hold onto the curves of her hips. Her thin waist begged for him to wrap his arms around it. Even though Ana was on the thinner side, she had a woman's body; delicious pair of breasts, a thin waist, curvy hips, and flat stomach. But it wasn't just her body that attracted Christian, he noted absentmindedly. Her heart shaped face, kissable lips and those hypnotic blue eyes attracted him equally. _**'If only she wasn't so irritating,'**_ he thought with a sigh.

He went to take a sip from his drink when his eyes fell on the thin straps of Ana's dress. The straps tied at her back to hold the front of her dress in place. As Ana turned around while dancing, Christian noticed that the ties of her straps had almost come undone. Any moment now they would be undone, causing the front of her dress to sag so she would end up flashing her lovely breasts to everyone. Hurriedly, Christian handed his Champaign glass to Elliot and rushed to the dance floor.

"Dance with me," he said loud enough so that she could hear him before he grabbed her hand and pulled her close.

Bumping against his chest, Ana gave him a startled glare. "What are you doing, you creep?" she hissed as she started struggling against his hold.

"Stay still, you careless idiot," Christian said scolding.

"How dare you!" Ana protested while keeping a fake smile on her face.

Instead of answering, Christian ran his hand over her back. When Ana realized that she could feel only his hand and not even an inch of the ties of her dress, she gasped in realization. "My dress!" she whispered.

Christian nodded. "The ties had come undone. A few more minutes and you would've been flashing everyone here," he said with an amused smile.

"Thanks," Ana muttered with a pout.

"You know I'm not as bad as you think I am."

"Okay, so you're a decent creep."

"Can you stop calling me a 'creep'?" Christian said with an angry sigh.

"I will if you tell me what you meant by my 'lovers' at the club that day."

"I heard you talking with a group of boys about a threesome, so…" Christian trailed off.

"So? I'm single. If I wanted to have a threesome, who are you to judge?" Ana asked, jutting her chin out in defiance.

"Yeah, I realized that as soon as I asked you that stupid question… and I didn't know you were single until the next day," Christian informed with a grimace.

"What do you mean 'until next day'?" Ana asked frowning.

"I had a background check done on you."

"Seriously?! And you still think I shouldn't call you a 'creep'?" Ana asked in disbelief.

"I think you lack the will to give credit to one's skills," he retorted.

"You call snooping around skills?" she asked, both of her eyebrows raised.

"I believe the better term would be 'collective gathering'," he said smugly causing Ana to roll her eyes.

Suddenly, Ana realized that they had danced through two songs. "I think we should move off the dance floor," she suggested.

Nodding, Christian wrapped his fingers through the straps at her back to keep them in place, and deftly maneuvered off the dance floor. If anyone one looked at them, they would think Christian had his arm wrapped around Ana's waist. Christian started leading Ana away from the crowd and towards the ladies' room when they were approached by their mothers.

"Now THAT's what I'm talking about! Isn't it better now that you're friends, and not fighting all the time?" Carla stated looking disgustingly thrilled.

There was no way to over-state their enormous amount of sarcasm when Ana and Christian said, "Yeah, it's fantastic."

"If Carla hadn't told me that you were fighting, I wouldn't have even known about it. I'm glad that you are friends now," Grace added with a kind smile.

Christian snorted at the word 'friend'. Ana ignored him and offered a polite smile to their mothers. She was planning on asking her mother's help for her dress, but Grace said she wanted to introduce Carla to someone and they left.

"Ugh! Now what?! Hey, can you call Mia? She can help me with my dress."

"I would, but one, I can't find her anywhere," Christian said looking through the crowd, "and two, I've got my fingers laced through your straps. If I let go, your dress will..." he trailed off with a shrug.

"Damn it! Okay. Take me to the ladies' room."

"Come." With that, Christian escorted Ana to an empty hallway. "Coast is clear. Go," he said letting go of the straps. Ana held her dress against her chest before entering the ladies' room. After a few minutes of silence, Christian heard her cursing. "You okay in there?" he inquired. He was leaning against the opposite wall of the ladies' room with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I need help here. I can't reach the strap back there. Can you call someone? Please?" Ana said opening the door a few inches and peeking through.

"I can help. It'll take less than a minute," Christian offered.

"Um… ah…" Ana grimaced as she tried to find a nice way to tell him that she didn't trust him… especially when she was almost naked. The dress was really unforgiving, so she had to leave her bra and panties off. Under her dress, she was wearing nothing.

As he saw her indecision, Christian's mouth twisted sardonically. "If I was going to molest you," he pointed out, "I would have done so by now."

Ana blushed at his bluntness. "So you say… But for all I know, you could be a very slow molester," she said suspiciously.

Christian rolled his eyes in disbelief before pushing the door of the ladies' room and entering. He grabbed Ana's shoulders and turned her around. With skilled fingers, he re-tied the straps at her back. He noticed the goosebumps on her bare back when his fingers touched her, but he ignored that side of his brain for the moment.

"There you go… and with your virtue still intact," He couldn't have sounded more condescending even if he had tried. With a petulant glare at him through the mirror, Ana left the ladies room.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**The next day, **Ana had just finished a meeting with one of their clients. She often went for lunches with clients to maintain a good relationship. Smiling to herself, she started walking to the nearest Starbucks. She had this habit of drinking coffee right after lunch. Suddenly, she saw a store with a beautiful exterior. Curious, she entered the store. An older woman in bohemian outfit greeted her with a smile, "Welcome, dear."

"Hey! I…uh love your exterior. I had to come inside," Ana said with a sheepish smile.

"Then it did its job," the woman laughed. "We have many things. Why don't you look around and see if you find something to your liking?"

Excitedly, Ana started looking through the stuff at the store. She was looking at a wind chime when her eyes fell at the doorway of the store. A man was standing a few feet away looking inside. Frowning at his strange behavior, Ana went back to look through stuff. After half an hour, Ana ended up buying a colorful wind chime, a large lace dream catcher, a bohemian style top, and lots of bohemian jewelry. She chatted with the woman for a few more minutes before heading out. Deciding to keep the bags in her car first before going to get her coffee, Ana headed towards her car. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed the man she had seen outside the store following her. Since her survival instinct was rather poor, she stopped suddenly and turned around, startling the man.

Ana gave him a large smile and greeted him, raising her eyebrow, "Hello there!"

The man looked confused for a second before he returned her smile and stepped closer. "Ms. Steele, you finally stopped. You walk too fast," he said.

Ana tilted her head and asked, "I know that I know you from… somewhere, but for the life of me, I can't remember your name."

"It's Jack Hyde. We met at that meeting at SIP, remember?"

"Oh… oh, it's you! Now I remember. So, why were you following me?" Ana inquired, bluntly.

"I-I wasn't exactly following you… per say. I saw you at the store. I wasn't sure if it was you at first, so I decided to wait outside. I got distracted for a minute and you were gone. I… uh… saw you walking so I… followed you," he finished lamely as he shuffled his feet.

Ana hadn't liked the vibe she got from this man the first day they met. Today's incident also made her a little uncomfortable. _**'Maybe… he's just shy and awkward with women in general and that's why he's behaving strangely?!'**_ she thought to herself. "That's really… nice of you… I think," she said aloud.

"I just wanted to say 'hi'," he sounded defensive.

"Well… 'Hi' then. I'll… uh… see you around? Bye," with a wave, Ana turned around and left. "That was bizarre," she muttered under her breath. In her carefree attitude, she didn't pay much attention to her gut feeling that something was wrong with Jack Hyde, and soon forgot about him.

**.**

Christian was returning from a lunch meeting when he noticed Ana talking to a man on the sidewalk as his dark grey 2019 Bentley Mulsanne was passing by. He frowned at the scene. He didn't know why he felt irritated watching her talk to a man. She was free. She could do anything she wanted. Why then he felt that burning sensation in his chest, he didn't know.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**A/N: Thoughts?**


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: **** Fifty shades of Grey or its' characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.**

**Thanks so much to my awesome Beta, Ninkita**

**.**

***Information:***

Ana and her friends = 24 years old

Christian = 28 years old

Mia = 22 years old

Elliot = 30 years old

**.**

*********I NEVER WENT CAMPING OR HIKING. I'VE NO REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE IN THESE THINGS. I'm just making things up.**

**.**

**Chapter -6:**

**.**

**Saturday morning,** Christian and Elliot gathered at the Grey mansion, waiting for their father. Bothe brothers had dressed in jeans, t-shirt, heavy jacket, hiking boots and cap. Carrick came out wearing something similar and burst into laughter. "How did we end up dressed alike?" he inquired jokingly.

"At least the colors are different," Christian stated with a smirk. Snickering, Elliot took Carrick's bag and started getting it inside the car's truck.

"You guys will be gone for how long again?" Grace asked worriedly for the millionth time.

"Mom, we'll be gone only for two days and one night. We'll be back by Sunday evening." Elliot stated, giving their mom an affectionate smile, "Right, Christian?" he nudged his brother.

Christian nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, mom. We'll be fine. We have our phones and portable chargers with us," he assured.

With a smug smile on his face, Carrick approached his wife. Taking her face in his hands, he whispered something in her ear. The brothers didn't hear a word, but the way their mother was blushed, they were sure they didn't want to know.

"I see their PPDA didn't change since I moved out," Elliot muttered. Christian had been the first to move out their parent's house after his fight with Carrick. Elliot had moved out only a few years ago.

"What's 'PPDA'?" Christian gave his brother a confused look.

"Public Pornographic Displays of Affection," Elliot clarified with a smirk causing Christian to snicker. "I mean I'm happy they still love each other, but I don't think I'll ever be comfortable seeing them romancing in front of me," he added. After a few more whispered sentences and few more kisses, Carrick joined the boys. They got in the car, waved at Grace, and drove off.

**.**

Carrick and his boys chatted about their work till they turned onto the Cedar Falls road. "We're only taking our bags. We should leave the tent in the car," Christian suggested.

"Good idea. Rattle Snake ridge trail isn't THAT big. We'll be back in3-4 hours… 5 hours if we want to horse around in the lake a little," Elliot said with a goofy grin.

Carrick grinned and nodded. "5 hours it is then. It's not often we get to have fun at our stressed out jobs," Christian sighed and shrugged in agreement.

Parking their car at the parking lot, the boys got out and gathered their bags. After making sure that the car was locked securely, they started hiking. Large mossy boulders and tall evergreen trees lined the way. All three of them had content smiles on their faces as they hiked their way to the elevation. Elliot stopped a few times and insisted on taking selfies and pictures so that they could remember this trip. Smiling, Christian and Carrick both gave into him.

It was one of those rare sunny days in Seattle. So the ground was not wet and slippery. It made their hike go faster. Reaching the ledge top, the boys sighed in contentment. The boys asked some of the other hikers to take their pictures as they goofed around a bit.

On their way down from the ledge, they stopped at the water fall to take some more pictures. Elliot was trying to take picture of the water fall when Christian pushed him from behind, causing him to almost fall face first. Carrick burst into laughter at Elliot's shocked face.

"YOU ASSHOLE!" he exclaimed after a minute. Christian was breathless from laughing too much.

After spending some time by the lake, they returned to the parking lot. They loaded their bags back inside their car, used the washrooms, and headed off towards Middle fork campground. They bought more water bottles before reaching the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie national forest which was located about an hour east of Seattle. They reached Middle fork campground in no time. Pulling out their tent and other necessary items from the car, they started setting up the tent. Carrick pilled dry logs on the primitive fire pit and covered it with tarp. One cannot trust weather of Seattle. It could start raining at the drop of hat here. The boys sat by their tent and ate the sandwiches and hot dogs Grace had packed for them. After that they spent next hours hiking up to the Otter falls and part of the Pratt river trail. It was close to twilight when they returned to their camp ground. Christian and Carrick built the fire at the fire pit as Elliot started pulling out food items from their bags.

"Do we have to eat these things?" Elliot grumbled.

"We could always order pizza," Christian suggested.

"Not if you want real camping feel," Carrick protested. Seeing both of his sons staring at him with amused looks on their faces. "Okay, fine. But how will you get someone to deliver here?" Carrick asked.

Christian gave his father a smug look before calling Taylor. "Food will be here in an hour and half. I also told him to get us some beers," he informed after hanging up.

"Great! I brought my guitar," Elliot announced excitedly. The father-son group spent the time singing songs and strumming on the guitar until Taylor arrived with the food.

The next morning, they hiked up the Snoqualmie lake trail. They took some more pictures as they goofed around. All three of them were much more relaxed than before. They were lucky to have two sunny days back to back. Around 3 pm, they returned to their camp site. It took them close to an hour to dissemble their tent and gather their other stuff in the car. The stopped at the restaurant for lunch before heading home.

.

.

.

Grey publications decided to expend to e-books. Since Steele House already had their own website for e-books, Christian thought it would be perfect to release these books in that website. Ever since Christian and Ana stopped fighting publically, Carla said it would be okay if Ana got involved in this deal again. So, instead of sending Caleb or Liam, Ana came for the meeting. Andrea informed Christian when Ana arrived. Deciding to be polite, Christian opened his office door for Ana. Ana was leaning again Andrea's desk chatting with her. She was wearing a see-through white blouse with white camisole underneath, red short ruffle skirt, and a pair of taupe ankle boots. She had on light brown smokey eye makeup with winged eyeliner, bright red lipstick, and a pair of dream catcher earrings with teal stones. Her hair was pulled back by a thick fluffy braid as headband.

"Ms. Steele," Christian called.

Waving at Andrea, Ana approached him. Christian moved back a little and did a come through motion with his hand. He didn't understand why Ana looked at him as if he had sprouted feathers, before frowning a little in confusion. He got the impression that she was questioning his sanity. A moment later, Ana shrugged and did something that shocked Christian… She hugged him.

Clearing his throat uncomfortably, Christian asked, "What… what are you doing?"

"You wanted a hug," Ana replied before pulling away from him and heading inside.

"Why would I want you to hug me?" he asked in disbelieve after closing the door behind him.

"Who knows how that crazy brain of yours works," Ana said taking a seat.

Rolling his eyes, Christian went back to his seat. "I didn't want you to hug me," he grunted. "Anyways… so I was thinking….."

Soon both of them lost themselves at work. They were so excited to start this new section that they didn't notice when the sun set. To work easily, they had taken their laptops to the small table by the wall to ceiling window. Hours of seating there had caused Ana to moan in back pain. "Ugh! My back's hurting… and so is my head. I need to lie down for a minute and coffee," she said stretching her muscles.

"Coffee is a good idea. I'll ask Andrea to get us some," Christian said getting up from the hair. He also had to stretch his back muscles. Glancing at the clock he realized that they had been sitting at the same place for last 4 hours now. Christian felt like an idiot when he found Andrea's desk empty. "Of course it's empty. It's 8 pm now. Andrea should be gone for an hour already," he muttered shaking his head. He went back to his office and was startled to find Ana lying on the couch of his office. Sighing at her behavior, he asked, "How do you like your coffee?"

Ana opened her eyes and peeked at him. "With extra milk and extra sugar," she replied. "Why are you getting us coffee yourself?" she asked curiously.

"Because we worked through office hours," Christian replied gesturing towards the wall clock.

"Oh wow! I didn't even realize the time," Ana chuckled.

Rolling his eyes, Christian went back to the break room to make coffee for them. He stood in from of the counter with his hands on his hip. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't figure out the professional coffee machine. He Googled the machine, watched YouTube tutorials, but nothing helped. He didn't know how long he stood there. Ana voice startled him.

"What have you been doing for last half an hour? Were you hoping that the machine would make coffee by itself?" Ana asked, amuse. "You know that won't happen, right?" she asked as he stepped up to him.

"I know that, okay? I was trying to figure this machine out," Christian informed, frustrated.

"Why did you buy this complicated monstrosity if you didn't know how to use it?" Ana asked confused.

"I just ordered the thing. I never used this. Usually Andrea, my PA, brings me my coffee,"

"So… to follow your order, your poor assistant had to learn to use this monstrosity? What an asshole you are!"

"I worked REALLY hard for all of these. So if I want a good cup of coffee, then there nothing wrong with it," Christian growled at Ana grabbing her shoulders roughly.

"Just because you worked hard, doesn't mean you have to bully your workers," Ana replied insolently.

"I don't bully anyone. I want the best for myself. What do you know about hard work anyway?" he said arrogantly.

"Oh really?! I worked three jobs at once for 6 years straight to get enough startup money to start my business. All you have to do was get access to your trust fund," Ana taunted with a sneer on her face.

"That's it!" Christian muttered angrily before grabbing her face and smashing his lips against hers.

He just wanted to shut her up, but when Ana held onto his hair and returned the kiss, Christian lost it. He pushed his body against hers until they were leaning against the nearest wall. He wrapped one of his arms around her waist tightly, while his other hand was in her hair. Hungrily, Christian continued to devour her lips. Ana moaned against his lips as she started rubbing her swollen breast against his hard chest. Every cell of her body was set on fire with desire. Hands were everywhere; lips roaming freely, the taste of him was all she wanted in her mouth forever. When oxygen became necessary, they pulled apart. Leaning his forehead against hers, Christian started to pant as he stared at her swollen red lips.

After catching her breath, Ana unwrapped her arms from Christian's body. Slowly, she placed her hands on his chest and pushed a little. Clearing her throat, she reminded, "Coffee,"

"Right," Christian muttered, clearing his throat as well. He pulled away from her, looking anywhere but at her. After shuffling on his feet for a few seconds, he went back to the coffee machine and started pressing random buttons. He didn't know what made him kiss her like that. He had practically assaulted the poor girl. He was lost in thought with guilt when he felt him being jerked away from the counter.

Ana was still panting as she stared at Christian's back. She understood that he hadn't meant to kiss her. She didn't either. Why had she responded so passionately to the kiss, she didn't know. Her eyes moved away from his form and to the coffee machine and that's when she noticed the spark. Urgently, she glanced at Christian to see if he noticed it or not, but he seemed lost in thought. When the spark turned into fire, Ana knew it was serious and she had no time to warn Christian. She grabbed the back Christian's suit jacket and gave it a sharp tug. It caused him to stumble. She used that momentum and jumped on him. As soon as they fell on the floor, the coffee machine blasted. In a matter of minute, the small galley kitchen was caught on fire.

"FUCK!" Christian gasped out as he stared at the fire in horror. "Are you okay?" he inquired.

"Don't worry about it. Call 911 first," Ana ordered.

Both of them had left their phones in Christian's office. "Let's get out here first. We'll get to my office, call 911 as we get out of here," Christian suggested.

"Are you out of your mind? We need to contain the fire or else this whole building would be on fire. Go and call 911 while I try to stop the fire," Ana said urgently.

With great reluctance, Christian rushed out of the break room and ran to his office. Grabbing his cell phone, he called 911. Giving them all the necessary information, he ran back to the break room. He found Ana in the hallway outside of the break room, coughing. "Are you okay?" he asked holding onto her shoulders after giving her phone back. He had managed to grab it on his way out of his office.

"I tried my best, but the fire spread rather fast. It's like someone had rubbed something flammable on the walls of that room," Ana said between coughs.

Christian frowned at that. _**'Is it possible? Holy fuck!' **_He thought in shock. _**'It is possible.' **_He had made quite a few enemies since he started his business. Shaking his head, he informed, "I called 911. We should get out of here. Come on!" he took Ana's hand and headed towards the elevator.

"Christian, we should take important files and stuff with us," Ana suggested.

"The fire is spreading faster than I like. We should get out or we'll get stuck here," Christian grimaced.

"Okay, but we should take the stairs," Ana said swallowing hard. She could feel her throat swelling from smoke inhalation.

Nodding in agreement, Christian led her towards the fire exit. They were almost two floors down, when they heard the sirens on firefighters. "Thank god!" Christian said with a sigh relief.

The next hour was busy. The firefighters had managed to douse the fire and control it from spreading. Ana was sitting at the back of the ambulance of the paramedic. Christian was talking to the police officers. The firefighters had given him the same theory that Ana had given him. Someone had rubbed something flammable on the walls of break room and messed with the coffee machine to start the fire. Christian was pissed as hell, but relieved that it didn't happen when there were more people inside the building.

Christian turned to return to Ana when he saw a one of the firefighters rushing towards her. Frowning, Christian stepped closer to hear them better. The man's back was turned towards Christian, so he couldn't see that man's face. That man's voice sounded familiar as he asked, "Ana banana, what were you doing here?"

"I had a meeting with the owner, Mr. Grey," Christian heard Ana replied with a shrug.

Christian could resist from interfering. He asked nonchalantly, "How are you doing now?" Turning to look at the man, Christian realized it was Caleb, Ana's business partner, but why he was wearing firefighter uniform, Christian couldn't understand. He asked, "Mr. Jacobson? I didn't know you were a firefighter,"

"Um… have we met before?' the man asked a little confused.

"What are you talking about? Didn't we have a meeting a few weeks ago?" Christian was puzzled by the man's reaction.

"Mr. Grey? Christian!" Ana called from beside him, "Let me introduce," she said, "This is Kellan Jacobson, Caleb's older twin,"

"Oh! Holy hell! You two look exactly alike," Christian exclaimed with a surprised smile.

"Other than the color of our eyes, everything is identical," Kellan said with a bashful smile, "So, we decided to change our hairstyles so that people can recognize us more easily," he added pointing at his short hair.

Christian finally realized that he didn't noticed Kellan's hairstyle till then. Caleb had shoulder length long blonde hair with blue eyes; Kellan, on the other hand, had short blonde hair with green eyes. "Wow. Nice to meet you," Christian offered his hand with a smile.

"You too, Mr. Grey. I just wish it was under better circumstance," Kellan gave an understanding smile.

"Me too, Mr. Jacobson," Christian sighed.

.

It took a few days for the firefighters to declare the building safe to resume work again. So, a whole week after the fire, GEH was back in action. Christian was stress over the fact that someone had tried to burn his company down. He had increased the security of GEH and Escala as well as his siblings and parents.

Christian was searching the file of his latest deal. Not finding the file, he called Andrea on the intercom. "Andrea, where is the file of the Tetramine deal?" he asked.

"I had left it on your desk last week in a USB drive, Mr. Grey," Andrea informed.

"Last week? With the fire and time off, I wonder where it could be?" Christian muttered to himself with a frown on his face as he started looking through his drawers. "Andrea, it's not anywhere on this desk," he said.

"I'll look in my desk, sir," Andrea said before hanging up.

That whole day members of the executive floor were in panic mode. That USB drive was nowhere to be found. Christian was roaring with rage. He had already fired two people. Taylor and Andrea shared worried glances as Ros tried to pacify Christian before giving him more bad news.

"What aren't you telling me, Ros?" Christian asked, "Usually you would be as pissed as me," he added suspiciously.

"Christian," Ros hesitated, "another company placed a bet on that deal and won. The bet was same as ours. It seems someone stole our plans," she said.

Christian stared at his CFO in disbelieve. "That USB drive!" the light bulb in his head lit up. "All our information were in that USB drive and that thing had been missing since… the fire,"

"What are you thinking, Christian?" Ros asked with a frown.

"That night… other than Ms. Steele and I, there was no one else in this floor. Then the fire started. She could be the only one," He said with an angry sneer.

"Christian, are you sure? I mean, why would she need to steal information of a deal that has nothing to do with her business?" Ros asked.

"Maybe she needed money. It doesn't matter, if she's the one who stole from me, I'll ruin everything for her," Christian growled.

.

.

.

That day library had been closed earlier that usual. Ana had found a new interior designer for the reading area of the library. She had wanted to upgrade that area for a while now. Caleb, Liam, and Ana were sitting a few feet away from the interior designer who was measuring the area. "Once this area gets upgraded, we can put a pause on any further upgrading for a while," Ana said with a content sigh.

"Well said, my friend," Liam said taking a sip from his cola can.

"This is the only area left after all. It won't need any upgrade for another at least four to five years… unless of course we have some emergency situation like GEH. That reminds me. Kellan wanted me to tell you that he would like it if we did some fire drills in this building," Caleb said sipping his coffee.

"That's a good idea. Last time was when we first opened this building to business," Ana said nodding.

"THERE YOU ARE!" a familiar voice greeted them excitedly.

"Great! Now you're going to live another 100 more years," Caleb grumbled.

Kellan snickered at Caleb's comment, "You still believe that if you're talking about someone and they appeared, then they would live additional 100 years? Seriously?! You're so superstitious, little brother," Kellan shook his head as he took a seat beside his younger twin.

"You're only 2 minutes older than me, your royal pain-in-the-assness," Caleb replied snarkily, raising his eyebrow. "And it's not like you're any better than me. You believe that if you step on someone's footsteps, then you get a similar destiny as them," he added with a smirk.

"It could be possible, you know," Kellan shrugged unapologetically.

"Same thing," Caleb said bumping his shoulder with his brother.

"So, what were you guys talking about?" Kellan inquired.

"Fire drills," Ana said with a smile.

"Good. When I didn't hear from you, I thought Cally didn't tell you," Kellan said talking a sip from Caleb's coffee.

"I was busy all day," Caleb protested, "and stop drinking my coffee," he whined. Caleb was usually really mature and the voice of reason amongst their friends, but as soon as his twin comes close, he would start acting like a brat.

"Mom called. She wants us to visit them," Kellan informed.

"Where are they now?" Ana asked.

"Somewhere in Paris. They are taking their time touring the world," Caleb answered with a chuckle.

"Maybe we can spend our Christmas with them?" Kellan suggested.

"Do you have this Christmas off?" Liam asked.

"Yeah since I was on duty last year," Kellan replied with a pleased smile.

"At least, your weirdness doesn't stop you from celebrating Christmas," Caleb teased, "You know, when we were in high school, Kellan declared over dinner that he wanted to be a priest. Our mom was freaking out and our dad thought his oldest had gone crazy. This continued throughout our junior year," he said snickering.

"So, how did you end up as a firefighter?" Liam asked, curiously.

"I knew I wanted to be a priest but I couldn't figure out of which religion. Becoming a firefighter was my plan B," Kellan said with a shrug.

Ana and Liam started snickering as Caleb rolled his eyes. From the corner of her eyes, Ana noticed one of the library employees heading towards her urgently. "Ana, police is here," the employee said reaching their table.

"Police?! Did they tell you why?" Ana asked as all four of them stood up from their seats.

"No, but they are asking for you,"

"Okay. Thanks," Ana gave her friends a confused look before heading towards the front of the library where two police officers were waiting. "Good evening, officer. My employee said you were looking for me?" she said.

"Ms. Steele, you're under arrest for stealing company secrets from GEH," one of the officers said.

"We also have a search warrant to search your apartment for the stolen property,"

"What in the hell are you talking about?" Ana asked in disbelieve.

.

.

.

**A/N: Hmm… do you think Ana stole that USB drive? What do you think Ana will do now? Leave me a review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: **** Fifty shades of Grey or its' characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.**

**Thanks so much to my awesome Beta, Ninkita**

**.**

***Some information: ELENA IS NOT IN THIS STORY AND JACK DOES NOT KNOW CHRISTIAN PERSONALLY. THEY DON'T HAVE ANY PAST CONNECTION LIKE FSOG.**

**.**

***Information:***

Ana and her friends = 24 years old

Christian = 28 years old

Mia = 22 years old

Elliot = 30 years old

**.**

**Previously:**

Ana and Liam started snickering as Caleb rolled his eyes. From the corner of her eyes, Ana noticed one of the library employees heading towards her urgently. "Ana, the police are here," the employee said reaching their table.

"Police?! Did they tell you why?" Ana asked as all four of them stood up from their seats.

"No, but they are asking for you.,"

"Okay. Thanks," Ana gave her friends a confused look before heading towards the front of the library where two police officers were waiting. "Good evening, officers. My employee said you were looking for me?" she asked.

"Ms. Steele, you're under arrest for stealing company secrets from GEH," one of the officers said.

"We also have a search warrant to search your apartment for the stolen property.,"

"What in the hell are you talking about?" Ana asked in disbeliefve.

**.**

**Chapter -7:**

**.**

"According to Mr. Grey, he had top secret files about a business transaction in an USB drive on his table theat day of the fire. He accused you of stealing that," the officer informed.

"WHAT?! Why the FUCK would I steal from him?" Ana burst out angrily.

"Ana, calm down. Let them do their job. I already called Kate," Caleb said holding Ana back.

"Calm down?! That asshole is accusing me of stealing!" Ana exclaimed in disbelieve.

"Yeah, I've heard. Now, take a deep breath and settle down, please," he insisted, pulling her away from the officers' path. Liam offered to show the officers to Ana's apartment. One of the officers went upstairs with him, while the other one stayed behind with Ana and Caleb.

"I saved his life that day and THIS is the 'thanks' I get?" Ana was muttering to herself.

"Annie, I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding," Caleb assured.

"I'm not forgiving him for this. I'll take revenge and it'll be sweet," Ana hissed like a cat. Caleb winced. He wasn't sure talking about revenge in front of a police officer was a good idea… especially when he was there to arrest her.

Half an hour later, Liam and theat other officer returned. Liam had a smirk on his face, while the officer was blushing as he announced their presence with an awkward cough. "I gathered all the USB drives from the apartment. I checked a few, but… I think it would be better if the accuser checked them to be sure which one is his," he said. Ana glared at him silently. The officers took Ana to the police station to interrogate her further. Caleb and Liam followed them in their car. When they reached the station, Kate was already waiting for them with an angry look on her face. The next three hours were filled with stress, frustration, and anger.

Finally, Christian arrived with his second in command, Ros, and his trusted IT guy, Barney. "Sorry, we are late. It took us some time to assure our clients that a pesky theft won't keep GEH down," Christian stated arrogantly as he glared at Ana who was sitting on the opposite side of the room. "This is my second in command, Ros and this is my IT guy. You found our USB drive?"

"Actually, Mr. Grey, we found 27 USB drives from Ms. Steele's loft. We're just waiting for our computer specialist to come to look through them," one of the officers informed.

"If you don't mind that I would like my IT person to look through them. That drive had sSecret information about our deal was in that drive. I don't want any outsider to go through them. I brought permission from the commissioner," Christian told them, handing them an envelope.

After reading the document thoroughly, the officer nodded and told Barney to follow him. Another officer showed Christian and Ros to a waiting room with coffee. Two hour later, Barney and the officer returned. They both were blushing and looked uncomfortable. "Did you find it?"' Christian demanded impatiently.

"No, Mr. Grey, sir. None of the USB drives were the one missing from GEH. They were all Ms. Steele's… personal collection," Barney informed, clearing his throat uneasily.

"What's with that expression? What was in those drives?" Ros questioned curiously.

"P-porns. Lots of different kinds of… porns," Barney replied, blushing harder.

Christian blinked, hoping that he had heard it wrong. "Excuse me?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Barney replied as the officer nodded in agreement from beside him.

"All 27 USB drives were full of… porns? Seriously?!" Ros asked snickering. Barney just nodded.

The officer cleared his throat awkwardly and said, "Since we didn't find any proof that could point prove that Ms. Steele stole your property, we would like your permission to check the video footage of your floor and office for it. It would be a solid proof against her.,"

"Don't worry, officer. One of my trusted employees, Welch and my head of security, Taylor areis going through the ose footages currently. They would will let us know as soon as they find something and hand over the footage to you," Christian informed.

The officer was just about to speak when Christian's phone rang. Seeing that it was Welch who was calling him, he answered it and put the phone on loud speaker. "Mr. Grey, we found the footage of the theftif. It's not Ms. Steele. That day when you both left your office to go to the break room, Mr. Decker came to your office to drop some files. He saw that your cabin was empty and took the USB drive," Welch informed.

Christian and Ros frowned angrily. Decker was one of the managers who was working on this particular project. To learn that one of their own employees had betrayed them was maddening. "Send Barney the video. We're at the police station. We want to watch it here," Christian ordered. A few moments later, Barney received the email. Welch was correct. It was not Ana; it was Decker who had stolen that drive.

The officer left to finish the paper work as Christian had withdrawn the case against Ana. He felt embarrassed that he had accused her unthinkingly, but he didn't want to confess that he was wrong. That's why as soon as he finished giving his signature, he was turned to headheading out of the station. But he was not successful. Ana had seen him heading out and blocked his way.

"That's it? You're just going to walk away after all thisese?" she asked in disbeliefve.

"I withdrew the case, didn't I? What more do you need?" Christian sneered. He felt cornered.

"You ACCUSED me of stealing! I SAVED YOUR LIFE! AND THIS IS THE 'THANKS' I GET?! HOW COULD YOU?! You, Mr. Grey, are an ungrateful asshole. If you think you'll just go on with your life normally after this, then you don't know how wrong you are," Ana hissed stepping closer to him.

"Are you seriously threatening me? In a police station?" Christian asked in disbeliefeve.

"Oh, you fool! I'm not threatening you. I'm promising you," Ana replied with a dark smirk before she turned and left the station. Christian was left staring at the empty door.

**.**

**.**

**.**

"We can sue him for defamation if you want," Kate said when Ana joined them by their car.

"We're canceling our contract with GEH. How dare they accuse you of such an offensce!" Caleb added angrily.

Liam was the only one who was observing Ana's blank expression. "What are you planning?" he asked.

"Caleb, Kate, cancel their contract. Liam, contact all our clients and assure them that this whole incident was a misunderstanding," Ana said getting inside the car.

"Are you suing?" Kate asked.

"No. Caleb, call William and ask him to meet me in my loft. Kate, did you get my USB drives back from police custody?"

"Whaty do you need Will for?" Caleb asked frowning.

"Don't worry about it. The less you know, the less likely for you are to get in trouble," Ana replied ominously. "Kate?"

"Yeah, I got them. Here," Kate replied handing her a plastic baggie with all 27 of her USB drives. "Why aren't you suing him?" Kate asked frowning.

"He's a billionaire. He would just give us the money and be done with it. I want revenge. I want him to regret EVER messing with me. That jerk!" Ana hissed. "Anyways… let's go to a pet shelter. I'm getting a dog," she added rubbing her temple.

"A dog? Are you sure?"

"I want that asshole to get bitten by my dog if he ever comes near me again," Ana answered.

Kate and the boys exchanged wary looks in return. "Ana, I don't think that's a good or valid enough reason to get a dog. Didn't you avoid getting a pet because you live in a loft? You could get one a few years later when you buy a house, you know?" Caleb tried to change her mind.

"Caleb, pet shelter, please," Ana said before turning her head to look outside.

**.**

They reached the shelter about fifteen minutes later. After talking to the people in the shelter, they were led to the cages. The cages were small rooms with iron bars on the front. Ana started interacting with each dog after reading their descriptions. Finally, Ana asked to meet one of the dogs, named Tyson.

Its name was Tyson, a 4-year-old Pitbull. They were taken to one of the rooms for the meet and greet. Liam and Caleb were excited for their new family member. They started chatting with Ana about the activities they would do after the dog goets settled in. Kate was the only one who remembered that Ana wanted the dog so that it could bite Christian Grey. So, she started Googling about lawsuits due to dog bites, to be prepared. She was sure Christian Grey was going to sue Ana for this.

"Did you see how relaxed he was? And he wouldn't stopped waggling his tail whenever I went closer to him," Ana squealed.

"Yeah. That was super cute. According to his description paper, he's friendly and loves people. That's a really good thing," Caleb said with a huge smile.

"Oh man! I can't wait to take him for walks," Liam added grinning widely.

A few minutes later one of the employees came with the dog. She told them that they could have 15 minutes with the dog to get introduced, then they could take the dog to walk in the shelter's backyard. She asked to let her know whethern they wanted to go for the dog or if the dog doesn't like them. She then left, closing the door behind her. Tyson was a 4-year-old male Pitbull. Hie's belly was white and the rest of his body was grey. He had soulful, wise eyes, and a patient nature. At first, he stood in front of the door looking lost, but as Ana started interacting with him with toys and treats, he started showing affection in return. He started jumping on her and licking her jaw, making her giggle like a little girl. Caleb and Liam also took a seait on the floor and started playing with Tyson. As time passed, Tyson revealed that he was a very affectionate dog. After a while, Kate also wasn't able to resist. She also ended up joining the others on the floor. Liam went out to get the employee so that they could take Tyson for walk. The employee returned a few minutes later and they went to the backyard to walk with Tyson. Tyson was calm. He didn't stray from them or bark at others; dogs or people. After spending ten to fifteen minutes outside, they went back inside.

Ana filled out the required papers for adoption. The employee told them to wait in the waiting room and they would inform if Ana was approved for the adoption or not. One hour later, the employee came and informed Ana that she was approved. Ana fist pumped excitedly as the others cheered happily.

"Hey, I didn't ask earlier, but how long has Tyson been here?" Ana asked the employee.

"He was dropped here last year. His last owner had died from cancer and it was too painful for his family members to take care of Tyson when their son was not alive. So, they dropped Tyson here with a sizable donation for the shelter," the shelter worker said with a sad smile.

"Is there something I should be aware of?" Ana asked.

"He might suffer from separatione anxiety. You have to look out for that.,"

"Thanks. Oh! Do you think I should take a dog training course with Tyson since I've never had a dog before?"

"I think that's a brilliant idea. It'll help you understand your dog better.,"

"He's neutered, right?" Kate asked.

"Yes, he is. His previous owner had him fixed," the employee informed with a patient smile.

"Great," Ana said, beaming with amusement as both boys winced.

After they were done at the shelter, they went to the nearest PetSmart. They bought all the necessary items and headed back to Steele tower. As soon as the rest of their friends heard that Ana was had been released from the caseby the police and she had got them a new family member, they arrived to at Ana's loft. Ana introduced everyone to Tyson and let them play with him, while Caleb, Liam, Ana, and Tom started setting up a play pen area forrom Tyson in Ana's lieaving room. They removed Ana's couch and set up the play pen there. Since it was one of the smaller lofts, there wasn't much space.

"I think I want to change up my loft a little. I want to extend the loft a few feet and change my normal stair case with those spiral stairs so that it doesn't take so much space. I want my whole kitchen under the loft area,," Ana said, looking around at the space.

"I'll call the contractor," Jose offered.

"Or you can just get a new place instead of changing this place," Carla said entering the apartment.

"Mom! Look! I adopted," Ana said excitedly as she pointed at her new baby. "And what are you talking about? Why should I change residence? I'm already late every morning. If I live far, I'll be later than usual," she said snickering.

"Why don't you just have an apartment builtd on top of this building? That way you can get a new place without relocating from this building. You'll need less permissions for this since you own the building," Nicolas suggested.

"Oh! I love that idea," Bill said excitedly as Ana nodded in agreement.

"Nicolas, my boy, you are a genius," Carla said with a proud smile causing the young man to blush.

**.**

Later that night, as everyone was heading back to their own apartments, Ana asked, "Did you call William?"

"Yeah. He'll be here around 12 o'clock," Caleb replied looking at the wall clock. It was 10 pm at the moment. "Why do you need him here?" he asked.

"Good night, Cally," Ana said giving him peck on his cheek.

Shaking his head, Caleb headed out. He knew Ana didn't want to tell him what she was going to do. He was scared for her. "Good night, Banana," he said with a wave and headed to the fifth floor where he lived in one of the studio apartments.

Closing the door behind Caleb, Ana danced inside, humming under her breath. "Tyson, I've good news. A week from now we are going to dog training courses. So that mommy can learn how to properly take care of you," she said in a sing song voice as she sat beside Tyson's play pen. Tyson poked his nose through the bars and bumped it with Ana's fingers. "I promise. I will take you for walks every day. I even got a leash for you," she cooed at her dog.

Tyson barked before getting oin his hind legs and licking Ana's face, making her giggle. After playing with Tyson for another 30 minutes, she went up the loft and started looking through apart5ment designs for her new apartment. Ana wanted two bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a large closet for the master bedroom and a smaller one in the other bedroom, a full size kitchen with isle, floor to ceiling windows, a small veranda for her bedroom, space for Tyson's play pen, and a washer-dryer unit. Her apartment would take only half of the terrace, so she wanted to convert the rest of it into a rooftop deck with a hot tub. Ana was getting excited for the new improvements. Around 12 am, her doorbell rang. Running down the stairs, she opened the door, huffing.

"You're excited…" William commented, looking a little terrified., "That's not good. Who's the poor fellow that's going to fall victim of to your excitement?" he asked giving her a hug in greeting.

"You'll see. Come in! Did you have dinner?"

"Yeah. Here, I got what you wanted me to buy," Will said pointing towards beside him. There was a large white teddy bear and a large empty cardboard box.

"I knew I could count of you," Ana said smirking as they got the teddy and the empty box inside the loft.

"Sooooo… what are we doing?" Will inquired after they settled on bed with their laptops.

"Someone hurt me and humiliated me. I want revenge," Ana replied with a sneer.

"Kate didn't suggest suing?" William asked curiously.

"She did, but he's really rich and it won't bother him. I want him to go through what I went through without giving him the satisfaction of being able to take any legal actions… and that's where you come fromin. You're the best hacker of in the USA. No one can trace you.,"

"Thanks… but 'hacking' is such an ugly word," he sniffed. Ana giggled at him s word before she started explaining her plan.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**NEXT DAY.**

Around 10 in the morning, a large parcel arrived at Christian's penthouse. It was a large cardboard box with 'Ffragile' written on it. Gail received the box and carted it into the living room. Theat box was oddly heavy. Opening the box, she found a large white teddy bear inside. Since it said the package was from Mia, Christian's sister, Gail asked one of the CPOs to place the teddy on the couch. Half an hour later, Gail left to do grocery shopping. As soon as Gail left the building, the CCTV cameras of the penthouse started running on a loop, showing an empty apartment, and the elevator stopped working. The security people of the building and the Christian's CPOs started were focuseding on fixing the elevator.

As soon as the text came to Ana's phone that she was safe, she started moving her hand to unzip the back of the teddy. She had been hiding inside it all along!. Getting the things she needed from inside the teddy, she started her task. First, she went to the kitchen. She pulled out an injection full of lLaxative and injected it in the milk carton and orange juice in the fridge. She also added powdered chocolate lLaxative in to the coffee. Smirking in amusement, she headed to Christian's study. William had hacked Christian's computer, which that allowed Ana to access it easily. Pulling up the Craigslist website, she placed two ads on it. After clearing away the browsing history, she headed out of the study and went to Christian's bedroom.

William had hacked into theis penthouse's CCTV cameras last night to make a map for Ana. So, it didn't take her longer than 2 minutes to reach Christian's bedroom. Heading straight inside his closet, Ana started opening drawers until she found Christian's underwear drawer. "Oh ho! Mr. Creep wears boxer-briefs," she commented offhandedly as she pulled out a pair of gloves. Putting it on, she got poison ivy from her pocket and started rubbing it on all of Christian's underwear. After she was satisfied, she refolded them and hid the poison ivy back in her pocket.

Next, she went to the bathroom. The first thing she did was hide all of the penthouse's toilet papers. She then took the showerhead of the master bathroom and removed it. Pulling out a chicken bouillon from her pocket, she snickered as she stuffed it inside the shower head and re-attached it. "You're not having a calming or cleansing shower for a while, Christian Grey," she stated with a smirk. Then, she emptied out the toothpaste and started filling itn with white glue.

After that, one by one Ana went to all of the bathrooms in the penthouse and in each showerhead, she poured neon pink body paint. She ran to the living room to get a plastic bottle from inside the teddy's skin. She had stuffed all kinds of items in that thing. Heading back to the master bathroom, Ana started injecting the liquid of from that plastic bottle into Christian's deodorant and shampoo. After everything was done according to her plan, she placed small cameras in every bathroom and in Christian's bedroom. These were the only places with no CCTV cameras to hack into. Ana wanted to see his reaction. Noticing that it had been more than half an hour, Ana hurried out of there and went to the living room. Since she had hid all the toilet papers of the penthouse inside the teddy, it was still heavy enough so Gail wouldn't get suspicious of its weight. Being careful not to touch anything with her bare skin, Ana headed out of the penthouse through the stauff elevator. William then restarted the CCTVs, making it look like no one was had ever been in the penthouse.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**A/N: What do you think Christian's reaction would be? Are you with Team Ana or Team Christian? Don't forget to leave a review. **


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: **** Fifty shades of Grey or its' characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.**

**Thanks so much to my awesome Beta, Ninkita**

**.**

***Information:***

Ana and her friends = 24 years old

Christian = 28 years old

Mia = 22 years old

Elliot = 30 years old

**.**

**.**

**Chapter -8:**

**.**

Ever since Christian had returned from the police station the day before, he had this sickening feeling in his stomach. He was feeling awfully guilty for his behavior, but he was NOT going to say those words out loud. No, that was's not why he had that sickening feeling. Last time when Ana was sent away because of him, that crazy girl had sent him a half-tamed ferret in retaliation. After what happened the day before, he was sure Ana was going to do somethingone big this time and it wouldn't be a ferret. If it was had been someone else, Christian could've predicted that they would sue him. He would've paid the bill and been done with it. Ana, however, was unpredictable. He didn't know what she was going to do. His beliefve solidified when he didn't get any notice that she was suing or anything in the next few days. Other than canceling their contract, he didn't hear from Ana or her team. That worried him. He could still hear her words clearly. "You, Mr. Grey, are an ungrateful asshole. If you think you'll just go on with your life normally after this, then you don't know how wrong you are…. Oh, you fool! I'm not threatening you. I'm promising you…" she had said.

Shaking his head to get his the thoughts out of his head, he and got out of the elevator. Taylor followed him out and opened the door of the penthouse for him. "Thank you, Taylor. Hey, it's 7 pm only and tomorrow is Saturday. Why don't you take Gail out for dinner? I'm not going anywhere tonight. You can have some time off," Christian told him with a mild smile.

"Are you sure, sir? You look tense. Is it because of the whole Ms. Steele situation? I'm sure if you give her a proper apology, then you'll feel less… guilty," Taylor suggested hesitantly.

"Taylor, leave me alone, please," Christian replied sternly before heading inside.

Nodding his head, Taylor headed towards the kitchen to tell her Gail the news. Christian headed to Dodger's room and was greeted by excited chatters of the ferret. The creature did a little war dance, a series of sideways hops that expressed pure delight. Christian's insides filled with warmth. "Good evening, you flea-ridden hair ball. Come here," he said opening the cage's gate. Dodger hopped out of the cage and hurriedly climbed over Christian's shoulder. Christian grabbed the ferret carefully and cuddled with him as he started chatting about his day with Dodger. Dodger replied with chatters of his own, making its seem that he was talking back. Christian played with his ferret for an hour. The both were tired by the play time. Christian had both tons of toys for his ferret and as well as training courses that they did together. He liked to bond with his pet first thing after returning home. "You and I will go for a walk at the park tomorrow, okay? Why don't you play at the ball pit for now?" Christian left Dodger at the ball pit, while he . He refilled Dodger's the ferret's bowl and water. Checking on his pet once more, he left after closing the door behind him.

Reaching the living room, he found Gail and Taylor waiting for him at the doorway. "You're heading out?" Christian inquired.

"Yes, sir," they replied.

"Have fun," Christian wished them before they headed out. He headed to his room and started undressing. He really needed a hot shower. His shoulders were aching from all these tensions of the day. His parents had called him this morning when they learned what he had done to Ana. They scolded him like he was an unruly teenage boy. He was had been sulking silently since then. Naked, he walked to his bathroom and stared at the mirror.

"I was not unjustified in my reaction. It could've easily been her who stole the USB drive," he said to the mirror.

Giving himself a nod, he went to the shower stall. He rested his arm against the wall after turning the water on. Closing his eyes, he let the hot water ruan over his body. It took him 30 seconds to realize something was wrong, and another 30 seconds to realize what was wrong. The shower stall was smelling like chicken for some mysterious reason. Christian frowned before opening his eyes. He was startled when he saw the water was slightly brown. "What?" he muttered before stepping away from under the water. "Why is the water brown? And why does itthis smell like chicken in here?" he said to himself. After a few minutes, the water's color cleared. Christian washed himself off hurriedly and got ouit. Pulling on his white terry velour shawl collar bathrobe, he headed out of the bathroom.

Confused, he went downstairs. His head was aching from the constant smell of the chicken. Reaching the kitchen, he started making coffee. He went to run his hand through his hair but stopped midway when his hand reached his face. His skin was also smelling like chicken. "I need another shower… and preferably one in another bathroom," he grumbled. He quickly drank the coffee as he read flipped through the newspaper.

Once done, he went back to the master bathroom. Taking his shampoo, he headed to the guest room's bathroom. Removing his robe, Christian started taking his shower. He was lost in thought, wondering about why his bathroom would smell like chicken, so that for the first few minutes he didn't notice anything weird around him. He was washing the shampoo from his hair when he finally noticed it. The scream that tore from him startled even himself. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" he exclaimed before quickly getting out of the shower stall. Standing in front of the mirror, he stared at his body in disbeliefve. From head to toe, he was all pink. "How?! What?!" he stammered out, wide eyed. "I HAVE to be dreaming. This can't be happening," he shook his head trying to wake himself up.

His phone suddenly started ringing. Giving one last look at his body's new neon pink hue, Christian headed to the guest room. His phone was on the bed and the phone ID showed an unknown number calling. He was too frustrated and confused by the incidents to wonder about the unknown number. "Hello?" he said answering the phone.

"_¿_Hola? Estoy llamando por esas cabros libres," came from the other end of the phone. _**["Hello? I'm calling about those free goats,"]**_

"Huh?! I'm sorry… Goats?" Christian had learned Spanish in high school, but it had been a decade since he last practiced the language. So, other than the words _'want'_ and _'gGoats'_, Christian didn't understand anything.

"¿Si. Quiero esas cabros prometidas. ¿Cuando puedo conseguirlos?" replied the man on the phone. _**["Yes. I want those promised goats. When can I get them?"]**_

"Lo siento. Wrong number," he said before hanging up. "Goats?" he muttered before shaking his head. He had more important things to worry about. Like why his body color was npeon pink all of a sudden and where is the smell of piss was coming from.

Christian went back to the bathroom and put on his bathrobe before cursing under his breath. His fluffy white bathrobe now had pink paint on it. "WHAT THE FUCKING HELL IS THIS?" he growled. He went to another bathroom and took another shower, but he was still pink… if not pinker.

"Why isn't it getting off?" he questioned out loud, "and where is that god awful piss smell coming from?" Hhis phone rang again. "I hope it's Taylor. He might have some insight for this," Christian muttered before receiving the phone. "Hello?"

"Estoy llamando a las cabras libres gratis. ¿Puedo obtener cuatro cabras en lugar de dos?" said a woman from the other end of the phone. _**["I'm calling for the free goats. Can I get four goats instead of two?"]**_

"Again goats?! You're calling the wrong number. Um… numero equ… euvocado… equivocado," he somehow managed to say. _**["Wrong number,"]**_

"¿Eso significa que no hay cabra?" the woman asked sadly. _**["Does that mean no goat?"]**_

"No. No goats," Christian replied before hanging up. He started dialing Taylor's number when his phone rang again. In the next 15 minutes, he received 6 back to back phone calls about goats. Frustrated by these calls, Christian switched off his phone.

He went to sit on the couch when he recalled that he was pink. Sighing angrily, he started pacing around the living room while grumbling under his breath. Suddenly, his abdomen started clenching and hurting. Grabbing onto his stomach, Christian winced. Before he could stop or think, he farteds loudly, causing his eyes to widen in shock. Since it was's a normal body function, he ignored it, but his stomach pain was increasing rapidly. At one point he couldn't stop himself from running towards the nearest bathroom. It looked like he had a severe case of diarrhea. Finally, when he was done with the commode, his hand reached for the toilet paper. Christian's eyes widened when he saw the tissue stand was empty. Looking around he saw that there was no toilet paper in the bathroom.

"This can't be happening…" he stated in total disbeliefve. Running his fingers through his hair, he said to himself, "It's like someone is taking revenge from m…. wait a minute! Revenge? Ana! Yes! She is the only crazy person who would do things like these," he growled angrily as all the things that had happened to him since he came home flashed through his mind.

Determined to not fall for her pranks, he got up from the commode and headed to the shower. He washed his lower body with soap and headed out of the bathroom. "I need to find some toilet paper first," he muttered before he started looking for them. There wasn't even a single roll of toilet paper to be found in the whole penthouse. Huffing angrily, Christian pulled on one of his boxer-briefs and a pair of sweatpants. He switched on his phone and called Taylor.

"Hello, sir?" Taylor greeted answering the phone.

"On your way home, remember to buy some toilet paper," Christian ordered before hanging up. His stomach was still hurting. Wincing, he returned to the bathroom.

2 hours later, Christian was finally able to relax. His stomach had stopped hurting and he didn't hadn't hadve to go to the bathroom in the last 20 minutes. He was laying on his bed, trying to take a nap now that he didn't have to run to the bathroom every few minutes, but for some reason, his crotuch was itching. Since he had to remove his pants every few minutes, he didn't hadn't noticed it before, but ever since he wore his pants, his crotuch had been itching like mad.

"She did something with my clothes too, didn't she?" he stated dryly before getting up from his bed. Glancing at his bed sheet, he sighed. The bed sheet now had pink on it. Sneering at the bed, Christian called Welch.

"Good evening, Sirs," Welch greeted.

"Welch, check the penthouse's CCTV footage and let me know if you find anything strange," Christian ordered.

"Certainly, sir," Welch replied.

Hanging up the phone, Christian went downstairs. He was heading towards the kitchen when his eyes fell on to the large white teddy bear sitting on the couch. Frowning, he went to it and started reaching for it when his phone rang. Without looking at the ID, he received the call.

"YOU MOTHER FUCKING COCK SUCKING ASSHOLE! HOW DARE YOU?! YOU TOLD ME TO SEND THOSE PAPERS AND NOW YOU'RE SAYING YOU DIDN'T? HOW COULD YOU BE SO HEARTLESS?! I'VE A FAMILY TO FEED. HOW WILL I DO THAT IF I GET FIRED, YOU ASSHOLE!?" yelled someone from the other end of the phone.

Startled, Christian removed the phone from his ear and stared at the phone. "What papers? What?' he muttered before putting the phone back on his ear. 'Um… I think you have the wrong number. I didn't ask you to send any papers," Christian said.

"Oh, I know that. Thanks for hearing me out, man. Bye," said the person on the phone before hanging up.

"What the hell?" Christian stared at his phone for 2 minutes straight, not understanding what just happened. His phone rang again. He didn't want to answer it but curiosity won and he answered. "Hello?' he greeted hesitantly.

"Honey, I'm sorry I cheated on you with your brother, but what could I do? His dick is bigger than yours," a man whined from the other end of the phone.

Christian's eyes widened. "Okay. Bye," he said before hanging up. When his phone rang again and the phone ID showed it was another unknown number, Christian silenced his phone and said "Nope. Not again. First the goats, then these strange calls. UGH…"

Taylor and Gail finally returned half an hour later with grocery bags with them. They were puzzled why Christian suddenly demanded toilet papers like that. "MR. GREY?!" Taylor called out.

"I'M IN HERE!" Christian replied from the top floor.

Frowning, Taylor and Gail headed upstairs. Usually, Christian would be in his office at this time. "Do you think he's sick?" Gail asked her husband.

"I hope not. Though… if he was indeed sick, then why would he ask for toilet paper?" Taylor stated in confusion.

"Yeah. You know what's strange? I bought toilet paper just a few days ago. Why would he need more?" Gail asked.

"That is strange," Taylor stated before knocking on the master bedroom's door. "Sir?"

"Come in," "came Christian's reply.

Opening the door, both Taylor and Gail were shocked. Their boss was sitting on the bed and he was pink. The room was also smelling like pee for some reason. "Sir?" the question in Taylor's tone was clear.

"Yeah. So, this happened after you guys left," Christian stated dryly, then he started telling them what happened in last few hours. "And on top of these bloody annoyances, I've been getting two weird kinds of calls. One type set of people are calling for goats in Spanish and the other type set of people are either yelling at me or doing sharing crazy confessions. I mean what the hell?!" he exclaimed angrily.

"I'll get Barney on the call thing and get back tocalling Welch to see if he found something or not. But I think I should check your shower first. By the way, why do you smell like pee though?" Taylor inquired at last.

"It started after the second shower," Christian grumbled as he continued to itch. Seeing Taylor's raised eyebrow, Christian added, "it started itching after I put on my clothes.,"

Nodding, Taylor left the room to head to his security office. "Sir, would you like to eat something?" Gail asked.

"Maybe something simple?"

"How does soup and a grilled cheese sandwich sounds?"

"That sounds yummy. Thanks, Gail," Christian gave her a tired smile. After pooping for hours, he felt like death had warmed over him.

With a nod, Gail hurried to the kitchen. 20 Twenty minutes later, she returned with a bowl of thick tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Giving him the tray, she asked, "Would you like some milk, sir?"

"No thanks," Christian replied before shoving a sandwich in his mouth.

Taylor returned a few minutes later and headed straight to the master bathroom. "What the fuck?" his exclamation was heard clearly from the bedroom. Christian and Gail exchanged curious looks. Taylor returned a few seconds later with a glower on his face. "There wereas traces of chicken bouillon in the shower head. Welch checked the CCTV footage but he found nothing strange was in there. How someone managed to pull this off is a mystery," he informed, pissed. He didn't like how that someone had managed to breach their security protocol.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**Next Morning.**

Christian's morning held another small incident when he went to brush his teeth. Someone had exchanged his toothpaste with glue. Other than that, everything was normal until he drank orange juice with breakfast and his diarrhea started all over again. Since Taylor had cleaned out the showerhead in the master bathroom, Christian was able to shower. So, the pink color of his skin had lightened considerably. He decided not to didn't go to GEH today, though. He really didn't want anyone to see him looking like the pink panther. Taylor arrived with Welch, Barney and an unknown person. Christian was sitting on the couch working on his laptop with an old t-shirt underneath him so as not to stain the white couch and working on his laptop. Seeing the stranger, Christian gave Taylor a questioning look.

"Sir, this is Mack. He is a forensic specialist. I asked him here to check on a few items you were having trouble with,"

"The pee smell and itching?" Christian asked.

"Yes, sir," Taylor nodded before leading away the man with him.

"Barney! Welch! Take a seait. Did you find something?" Christian inquired.

"Uuh… yes, sir. Um… why are you… pink, sir?" Barney inquired.

Christian shot him a glare before asking, "Welch? What did you find?"

"Sir, it seems yesterday for more than half an hour, the CCTV of the penthouse was put on loop. It looks to be the work of some an experienced hacker because the hacking was done from outside the building," Welch informed.

"What was the last thing before the loop started?" Christian asked frowning.

"It started after Ms. Gail left the apartment.,"

"Did anyone come here before she left? Because I talked to the other CPOs and they said the elevator broke right after Gail left.,"

"Other than that delivery, nothing and no one came here," Welch answered.

"Delivery?" Christian questioned, puzzled.

"That teddy bear was delivered yesterday. Other than the delivery man, no one else came up," Welch said, pointing at the teddy sitting on the other side of the room.

"Gail? Can you come here for a minute, please?" Christian called out.

"Yes, Mr. Grey?" Gail came hurriedly.

"Who sent that teddy bear?" Christian asked pointing towards the bear.

"The package said 'From Mia Grey'," Gail responded.

"Okay. Thanks," Christian nodded at her. "Mia does delivers clothes and other stuff for me occasionally. It's not abnormal," he informed Welch.

"Okay, then I'll look again for abnormalities," Welch stated before leaning back.

"Barney, what did you find? Why am I getting those strange calls?" Christian asked.

"Mr. Grey, sir, it seems someone had put two ads on Craigslist with your number," Barney started as he pulled out his iPad and handed it to Christian, "As you can see, the first ad says_, _**'Call this number and get 2 free goats. Hablas espanol.**_**'**_ _'Hablas espanol'_ roughly translates to 'you must speak Spanish'," he explained. "Here is the second ad. As you can see, it says, **'Having a bad day? No worries! Just call this number and take it out on me. Because I'm an asshole and I deserve it! PRANK CALLS welcome!**_**'**_ That's why you've been getting those strange calls," Barney ended. "But the strangest thing of these all is… these ads were posted from your computer, Mr. Grey," he added hesitantly.

"WHAT?!" Christian bellowed angrily.

"I think whoever hacked the CCTVs, also hacked your computer," Welch guessed.

"Which computer was it?" Christian asked, barely controlling his anger.

"The one in your house office," Barney stated.

"I have the most elaborate security team. How the heck did they manage to hack into my CCTVs and computer?" Christian questioned as he got up from the couch and started pacing.

"Sir, if you don't mind… how did you get like… that?" Barney asked again pointing at Christian's hands.

"Pink?" At Barney's nod, Christian explained how all theseit had happened in a dry tone.

"All the evidence points that towards someone is pulling an elaborate prank on you," Welch concluded.

"Could it be your siblings? After all the only delivery came from your sister," Barney asked.

Christian frowned. Barney was right. Mia and Elliot did enjoy pulling pranks. But why did his gut say that it was Ana who did these things?. "Maybe?" he stated, confused.

Taylor and Mack, the forensic specialist, returned to the living room a few minutes later. Their expressions were a mix of amused ment and disturbed. "What did you find?" Christian asked curiously.

"I was right. Someone had shoved chicken bouillon in the showerhead of the master bathroom, while the showerheads of the other bathrooms had neon pink body paint in them," Taylor replied with a grimace on his face.

"That's why I'm this… awful color?" Christian asked in disbeliefve.

"Yes, Mr. Grey. If you had taken just one bath, you would've returned to your normal color by now, but since you took multiple baths, it's taking some time to get off," the forensic specialist explained.

"What else?" Christiana sked with a sigh.

"The toothpaste had school glue. All of your underwear was rubbed with poison ivy. Your shampoo and deodorant had pee in them. From what I could gather, it's some kind of animal pee. I'm guessing dog or cat," Mack continued,. "Oh yes! The milk, orange juice, and the Keurig water had laxative in them.,"

"It seems someone went to a lot of trouble to pull these pranks on you," Barney commented titling his head.

"That does match Elliot and Mia's style," Christian commented, "but… I doubt they had someone to hack into my computer," he hesitated.

That afternoon, Christian received a call from his parents. They were super extremely angry with him. They had just learned about his case against Ana and weren't happy about it. Saying that he had everything under control, Christian hung up. He knew at one point or another his parents would insist that he should personally apologizes to Ana. He knew he should do that, but his pride didn't want to bend in front of that girl.

The nNext three days passed by normally. Christian went back to work as he thought nothing more could happen. After all, whoever pranked him should be out of pranks by now. He didn't know how wrong he was. The next morning, he found his phone in the fridge… embedded in jelly.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**A/N: Did you like Ana's revenge? How would Christian react now? Leave me your thoughts in the review.**


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: **Fifty shades of Grey or its' characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.

**.**

**.**

**# Why do you guys think Jacob killed Christian's parents? Just because he's a serial killer doesn't mean he killed everyone who died.**

**#** Thank you so much to my readers for supporting me and understanding me.

**# Important facts:** In this story, Christian is a billionaire but he was never a Dom or into BDSM. He's not the master of the universe. He's just a normal guy who is rich, spoiled, and enjoys chilling with his siblings and friends. Yes, he does have friends.

**#** **To those readers, who thinks I strayed from my plot-line: **No, I did not stray from my plot-line. This is what I wanted to write from the beginning. The characters might not be mine, but the plot is. So, I can do whatever I want in MY story. I'm NOT forcing you to read my story. If you don't like it, don't read it anymore. It's okay.

**#** **To those readers, who thinks Ana is childish:** Yes, she is. That's what she's supposed to be. I wanted her like this, so I made her like this.

**# To my guest reviewers who left me those annoying reviews: **Stop reading my story if you don't like it. You have NO right to tell me how I manage my fandom addiction. The characters might not be mine, but the plot is. So, I can do whatever I want in MY story. I will urge you to go Fuck yourselves with a cactus If you continue to bully me.

**# One last thing:** IT'S JUST A STORY. STOP TAKING IT SERIOUSLY. Thank you.

**.**

**.**

**Thanks so much to my awesome Beta, Ninkita**

**.**

***Information:***

Ana and her friends = 24 years old

Christian = 28 years old

Mia = 22 years old

Elliot = 30 years old

**.**

**.**

**Chapter - 9:**

**.**

Ana had a smile on her face. In the name of taking rest, she had holed up in her apartment that afternoon, watching the live footage of Christian Grey getting a taste of her revenge. As he went through each struggle, Ana felt her smile widening. Her amused snickers echoed throughout her apartment. Tyson was downstairs, but hearing his new mistress's giggles, he had climbed up the stairs curiously. Cautiously, he approached the bed where his mistress was looking at a thing strange square thing.

"Tyson, my baby!? Come," Ana commanded patting the bed. Staring at her for a few second, Tyson finally jumped on the bed and laid down beside her to stare at the square. He didn't understand what they were staring at exactly.

Suddenly Ana sighed as she layid down on the bed beside her doig. Her jaw rested on her palms as she ogled Christian's naked body through her laptop. "He's one fine piece of man…... even when he's pink. That's so unfair. If he could just sit around my apartment… looking all sexy as sin like that without speaking, he'd be perfect," she muttered to herself, dreamily.

Finally, when Christian went to bed, Ana took Tyson to downstairs to his bed. After checking her door, she went to bed herself.

**.**

**Three nights later,** with William's help, Ana entered Escala again. She wondered why the security people didn't hadn't locked the service elevator. Since it was night time, she had to be extra careful. Tip toeing, she headed towards the master bedroom. She was really careful when she entered the room. Instantly, she froze in place. Ana had to clench her hands tightly so that she doesn't wouldn't do something rash like touching theat naked man in front of her. She knew Christian was hot. She had seen him s naked on the video, but the real thing was hotter than hell. Shaking her head, she grabbed Christian's phone. She was heading about to head out, but then she stopped as a naughty smile graced her lips.

**15 minutes later,** she was in the kitchen making jello. She covered Christian's phone in clinga clean wrap five times to be safe as the first half of the jello set in the fridge. When it was done, she placed his phone face down on the jello and poured the rest of the jello over it. She placed the bowl in the fridge and rushed out of the penthouse.

**.**

**The next morning,** Ana woke up around 4 am eager to see Christian's reaction. From the last five days' observation, she had noticed that Christian always woke up early. Yawning, she took her laptop downstairs and started making coffee. Ana had just finished making her coffee, when she saw Christian waking up. Hurriedly, she sat on the couch and placed the laptop on the tea table before sipping on her coffee. She ogled the handsome asshole as he took a piss.

"I'm such a pervert. Why am I enjoying him peeing?" *deep dreamy sigh* "but the sight of hims holding his hard, large cock in his hand as he pissesd is such a beautiful sight.," A shiver ran through her as she recalled how amazing it felt when he had pressed his hard body against hers. It was like every cell of her body was set on fire. She felt the phantom impression of his lips and his groping hands like a phantom as the memory ran through her head. By the time, she managed to shake herself out off of the memory lane, Christian was in the shower, jerking off. Another dreamy sigh left her as she muttered, "If oOnly if he wasn't such a douche.,"

She made breakfast and watched as Christian got dressed and started looking for his phone with a frown on his face. Ana brought her breakfast to the couch and sat down as she watched Christian turning his apartment upside down lookingas he looked for his phone. When Gail and Taylor entered the apartment through the stauff quarter door, they found Christian huffing and puffing as he looked for something.

Ana smirked as Taylor asked, "Sir, is everything okay? What are you looking for?"

"I can't find my bloody phone," Christian replied, growling.

"Let me ca…" Taylor started to offer,ed when they all heard Christian's phone ring. It was a little muffled for some reason. "Do you think Dodger took it?" Taylor asked.

"But the sound is coming from the kitchen," Gail said.

"Let's go," Christian said heading to the kitchen. Ana waited with bated breath as Christianna, Taylor and Gail reached the kitchen. His phone was still ringing but the sound was muffled. They looked in the dishwasher, cupboards and then… Christian finally opened the fridge.

Taylor and Gail were looking through the other cupboards of the kitchen when they heard Christian yelling, "WHY IS MY PHONE IN JELLO?!" Taylor and Gail's eyes widened in horror as they turned around. Christian's phone was really, truly in jello…. still ringing.

"OH MY GOD!? WHO DID THIS?" Christian screamed in disbeliefve. "I had so many much info oin it..." he added closing his eyes in frustration, "it looks so cracked," he added sadly. Ana cooed at his sad face.

"Don't worry, sir. I'm sure Barney can pull the back-up in a new phone," Taylor assured.

"It's ringing. So, it might still work," Gail pointed out.

Looking hopeful, Christian shoved his hand in the jello and started taking it apart. Thankfully, the phone was wrapped five times in clear wrap, so it was working. Christian sighed in relief before taking a seait on the stool by the aisle. "I'm really happy that my phone is okay. Who did this though?" he asked Taylor.

Ana was laughing so hard that the cup in her hands almost fell off. After managing to control her laughter, she went upstairs and changed into a pair of black leggings, pink camisole, and her jogging shoes. Taking Tyson's leash, she went back downstairs where her excited doggie was waiting for her. Attaching the leash, Ana and Tyson headed out. Nicolas was waiting for them at the doorway of the building.

"Good morning," he greeted as he continued to stretch.

"Good morning, Neko," Ana said with a teasing smile on her lip as she also started stretching. Tyson bumped his head against Nicolas, causing him to laugh and pat Tyson's head affectionately.

"You know, it's wasn't funny when we were in college… it's not funny now," Nicolas stated dry.

Ana snickered. "It's not my fault that you look like a neko and have a familiar sounding name," she poked her tongue at him. Nicolas just rolled his eyes. They had been having this same argument for years now. "I'm done stretching," Ana announced.

"Let's go," and they started jogging. Nicolas was always a little paranoid. So, whenever they went jogging together, they never went in the same direction. Nicolas loved to miss-match things.

"Neko, it's been years. Even your psychiatrist told you it's time to let go," Ana said softly. She worried about her friend a lot. Nicolas was had been kidnapped by his father's enemies when he was only 5 years old. He had been stalked before the kidnapping. Ever since he learned about ithat fact, he had been paranoid. His symptoms had lessened but there were still some behavioral patterns that he followed religiously.

"I've let go, Ana… but I feel comfortable when I'm not predictable. They It helps me sleep at night," Nicolas replied with a wry smile.

"As long as you're fine. We all worry about you.,"

"And we worry about you," Nicolas said before giving her an inquiring look., "Don't think I didn't notice that sly smile on your face when you came out," he added. "You've been a little too calm after the whole… incident with police.,"

"Let's just say… I already had got my revenge," Ana replied with a snicker.

"Since William was involved, I'm guessing it was one of your epic pranks? Should you we prepare papers to bail you out once more?"

"That won't be necessary. No one can prove that it was me who pulled theose pranks," she replied smugly.

**.**

**.**

**.**

After the frustration filled morning, Christian went jogging with Taylor as usual. They were on their way back to Escala when his phone rang. After finding his phone, he had put it on charging and had forgot to check his phone to check who had called him earlier. At the ringing of his phone, he pulled it out and saw he had 15 missed calls from his siblings and parents. Thinking there might be some kind of emergency, he instantly called his dad.

"So, you finally had the guts to call your father I see," came the a dry response from his father.

"Dad? What are you talking about? Anyways, why did you guys call me so many times? Is everything okay?" Christian asked worriedly.

"Christian, if you have some time, please come home. We should talk face to face," and his father hung up.

"What the hell?" Christian muttered looking at his phone in confusion. "He hung up on me," he told Taylor who was giving him an equally confused look.

After taking a shower and changing into clean clothes, Christian headed to his parents' house. As they drove, he felt his nervousness growing. _**'Why did his father acted like that?'**_ he kept wondering with a frown on his face. "I still don't get it," he blurted out.

"Maybe he's still upset about your behavior with Ms. Ana?" Taylor suggested.

"Quite possible. I don't know how, but somehow that girl managed to pull the stick out of my uptight father's ass," Christian snorted. Taylor smirked in response.

Reaching the Grey manor, Taylor opened Christian's door. Giving him a nod, Christian headed inside only to find his parents and siblings in the dining room. "Why are you always here? Didn't you move to a nice apartment a few years ago?" he asked his older brother. Instead of answering his question, Elliot glanced at him and chocked. Mia looked green while his mother was blushing bright red. Only his father had a stoic look on his face. Christian felt like he was a teenager again. He didn't understand their reaction. "Um... what's going on?" he asked hesitantly.

"From your question and confused expression, I'm guessing you didn't mean to send us these massages," Carrick stated before handing his phone to his youngest son.

Curious by at his father's statement, Christian took the phone. As soon as he held it in front of his face, he felt his eyes widening in shock. He practically stopped breathing. and breathing stop. "FUCK!" he breathed out. There were more than five photos... his nude photos. In all of them, he was sleeping. Then he remembered that his phone was had been found in the jello this morning. "Someone came to the penthouse," he stated, shocked. Then he recalled his father's statement., "I didn't send this to ANYONE. Someone took these last night... I'm sure of it," he exclaimed.

"What do you mean by that?" Carrick asked, worried by his son's horrified expression. "Do you have a stalker or something?"

"All of thiese started four or -five days ago," Christian started. He told them in details what he had been going through and what had happened this very morning.

Elliot was laughing so hard that he was having trouble breathing. Carrick had an amused smile on his face while Grace was struggling between concern and amusement. She was worried for her son and was amused at the same time. Mia was the only person who looked relived. "I'm just glad that it wasn't you who sent these photos. To be frank, I'm scarred for life. I never wanted to see you naked... in any shape or form," she shuddered in disgust.

"I also didn't want my parents, let alone my siblings, to see me naked either," Christian replied with a grimace.

"From what you just told us, it seems someone is taking revenge from you without giving you anything that could give you the option to sue or file a case against them. You said there was no one in the CCTV footage?" At Christian's nod, Carrick continued, "That means you won't be able to file a case against them for home invasion or trespassing because you have no proof. Also, since these photos were sent from your phone, you can't blame others... even if someone else had sent ,"

"I thought, Mia or Elliot was behind the pranksdid these," Christian confessed.

"I wish I had thought of it. These are some epic pranks," Elliot was still laughing, clutching his stomach. Christian glowered at his brother.

Mia hid her lips behind her hand and giggled. "Can we watch the CCTV footage of that day?" she asked with a hopeful look on her too amused face.

"Yes, please," Grace blurted out, making Christian gape at his mother. Carrick burst into laughter and Elliot joined him. Christian continued giving his family members betrayed looks.

**.**

The Grey family had finally calmed down. They were gathered in the family room, drinking coffee. Christian was sulking as anytime one of his siblings or parents glanced at him, they would start snickering again. "Okay, okay. Enough of this. Christian, let's talk about Ana. I heard what you did and how your irresponsible behavior caused Ana to get in trouble with her other clients. On top of all that, you still haven't apologized to her?! How could you? Is that how I raised you?" Grace scolded.

"I agree with your mother, son. You should make both a personal and issue a public apology. Without any proof, you harassed that poor girl. You damaged her professional image all because of your blind accusation," Carrick said gravely.

Christian grimaced like a scolded teen. He knew he should apologize, but he didn't want to say that he was wrong. "I... uh... I'm... going to," he stammered.

"Going to? Seriously?! No, that won't do. You're going to come with me to Ana's house today and apologize to her," Grace said sternly.

"Mom!" Christian whined, "I can apologize alone. Why do you have to come along?"

"Because I don't trust you to actually apologize. You might instead come back arguing with her some more," Grace stated rolling her eyes while shaking her head. She didn't understand why her mature son acted like a brat whenever it came to that sweet girl, Ana.

"I won't... ugh... " Christian huffed angrily.

**.**

**An hour later,** their car stopped in front of the Steele Tower. Christian had a grimace on his face. He felt like a small child. "Why are you treating me like a kindergarten kid?" he huffed, pouting slightly. His tone had an unintentional note of petulance.

"Because you're behaving like one," Grace replied giving her son a sideways glance. "You go up first. I'll give you a five minutes head start. Then I'll join you guys. You better have apologized to her by the time I reach upstairs," she warned.

Shaking his head in disbeliefve, Christian got out of the car. Fixing his light grey suit jacket, he headed inside. Reaching the 6th floor, he was just going to knock on Ana's door, when it opened from inside and a large pitbull ran out of it. Seeing Christian in its' way, it jumped on hims and growled aggressively.

"Tyson? Why did you run out like that?" Ana asked as she came out running after her dog. S seeing Christian sprawling under the weighait of her dog, Ana whistled, impressed. "Good boy! I didn't haven't even started training you and you already know who you need to attack," she stated leaning against her doorway with her arms foldeding over her chest.

"What do you mean 'good boy'? Hhuh?! Are you out of your mind? I can get your dog taken away for this!" Christian growled at her.

Ana narrowed her eyes at the handsome devil on the floor. "I will claim self-defense. I'll tell them the truth, that I don't feel safe with you. So, my dog reacted," she replied coldly.

Christian calmed down after that. "Um... can you get him off? We need to talk," he requested.

"Tyson, get back," Ana commanded with the hand signal. Since they had just started learning the dog commands and hand signals, Tyson took some time to remember what the signal meant. Once he understood, he got off of the man on the floor and headed inside the apartment.

Christian got up from the floor and started dusting himself off. "Look... that day... I shouldn't have suspected you like that. It was wrong of me. I'm sorry," he muttered, looking at his jacket.

"Are you apologizing to me or that jacket of yours?"

"I didn't misbehave with my jacket," Christian stated, giving Ana a look.

"You didn't only misbehave with me," Ana replied dryly.

"I know... and I'm sorry," he said regretfully.

"You're not forgiven," Ana said glaring at him, "You don't get my to get forgiveness so easily. You ruined my hard-built reputation without a thought or even an ounce of consideration. I will never forgive you. You're not only a creep, but also a jerk.,"

"Can you just... not hang onto this matter? Let it go. I promise, I'll do issue a public apology as well," he insisted.

"I don't need your apology," Ana sneered at him.

Getting angry now, Christian blurted out. "You know what? No polite person can talk to you. You won't understand politeness even if it hits you in the face. You'll only understand criminal behavior," he spit out.

"So, you mean to say whoever talks to me are all ill-mannered criminals? Then your mom must be the pirate queen, your dad a pickpocket, and your siblings must be the goat thieves, right?"

"It's useless to talk to you," Christian snarled.

"And your face is useless," Ana snarked back.

"Really?! That's your come back?" Christian asked in disbeliefve.

"Did you two start fighting again?" Grace's voice broke through Christian and Ana's angry haze. They stepped away from each other with a huff.

"Hey, Grace," Ana greeted the older woman with a hug.

"Hey, baby girl. I heard what my buffoon of a son did. I'm so sorry, sweetie," Grace said sadly. She really loved this girl and Carla had become a close friend to her.

"Please, come in," Ana invited Grace inside.

"Wow," Grace breathed out looking at the interior, "This place is so lovely, Ana!,"

"Thank you, Grace. When we were making the 6th floor, I told the contractiorn to make sure this floor had a tall ceiling. Small spaces look bigger with tall ceilings," Ana informed proudly.

"You're absolutely correct, honey. Mind if I look around a little?" Grace requested. She had always been fascinated with loft apartments and this was the first one she saw had seen in real life.

"Go look around as much as you want," Ana wave her hands with a smile. "Coffee?"

"Sure, dear," Grace replied before she headed up the stairs to look at the loft.

As soon as Grace left the two alone, Tyson came running towards them and stood between them as if to protect his mistress. Christian huffed at the dog's behavior. "I'm not going to hurt your mistress," he hissed at the dog who just gave him a suspicion filled look.

"Debatable," Ana muttered as she continued to make coffee for everyone. Christian heard her and glared at the back of her head.

10 minutes later, Grace, Ana and Christian sat in the living room, drinking coffee. Tyson sat by Ana's feet as if to guard her. "You've done a great job with this place, Ana," Grace praised, "How long have you hadve this place?"

"Two and half years. I'll miss it," Ana said wistfully.

"Miss it?" Grace questioned.

"As you can see, I adopted recently," Ana said gesturing towards her pitbull, "and this place doesn't have much space for pets. So, I'm having a two bedroom apartment made on the terrace as well as a rooftop deck with Jacuzzi.,"

"That sounds amazing," Grace beamed before remembering why she was actually here. Clearing her throat, she placed her coffee mug down on the tea table. "Let's get to the reason why we're here. Ana, I heard what Christian did and I can't express how sorry I am.,"

"Grace, I can't say that I'm not upset with this whole incident, but you should not apologize for his behavior. He's an adult person, so he should be held responsible for what he did.,"

"I agree with you," Grace stated as she glared at her son.

"I apologized to her already," Christian bit out with a grimace.

"He wasn't sincere," Ana pointed out.

"HEY!" Christian protested.

"Christian, why do you keep bullying Ana?" Grace asked, tired of their fights.

"I don't bully her!" Christian exclaimed.

"Yes, you do," Ana added.

"I do NOT!,"

"Yes you do.,"

"You know what?! I have thought of some conditions. If you follow them, I won't bully you again," Christian said with a smirk, causing both Ana and Grace to give him suspicious looks.

"What do you mean by conditions?"

"Look... everyone knows that I'm short tempered, and for some reason, you keep doing things that makes me angry and I react," Christian tried to explain.

"What are the conditions?" Ana asked dryly.

"Don't pull pranks. It's annoying as hell. Don't talk to me unless it's about our business. And most important of them all... stop acting so childish," Christian laid out.

"Now, what kind of condition is THAT? How can one trust you or your temper? Today you're saying that my childish nmature irritates you. What's stopping you from saying tomorrow that _'Ana, stop breathing because that irritates me'_. So, do you expect me to stop breathing as well?" Ana snarked.

"I agree with Ana," Grace interrupted before they could start another argument. "It's not right for you to expect Ana to change herself just for your convenience. That's really rude of you to point out as well. I think I have a better solution. You two should go on a date and get to know each other.,"

Both Ana and Christian gaped at the older woman. They couldn't stand each other for more than half an hour, and she was asking themy to go on a date! "What?!" they both exclaimed.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**A/N: So, next chapter these two will go on a date., But do you think it will be a normal date? How do you think Grace convinced them to go on this date? If you want to know, leave me a review.**


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: **** Fifty shades of Grey or its' characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.**

**Thanks so much to my awesome Beta, Ninkita**

**.**

***Information:***

Ana and her friends = 24 years old

Christian = 28 years old

Mia = 22 years old

Elliot = 30 years old

**.**

**Previously:**

"I agree with Ana," Grace interrupted before they could start another argument. "It's not right for you to expect Ana to change herself just for your convenience. That's really rude of you to point out as well. I think I have a better solution. You two should go on a date and get to know each other.,"

Both Ana and Christian gaped at the older woman. They couldn't stand each other for more than half an hour, and she was asking themy to go on a date! "What?!" they both exclaimed.

**.**

**Chapter - 10:**

**.**

"Don't look so shocked," Grace scolded mildly, "It's just a date.,"

"I don't wanna date her," Christian exclaimed angrily.

"I don't want to date you either. I'll rather consume poison thaen date you..." Ana stated before adding dreamily, "that too after adding it in chocolate cake.,"

"Why would you eat poison after adding it in chocolate cake?" Christian asked, confused.

"Why can't I die eating my favorite food?"

"Poison is your favorite food?" Christian was even more confused.

"She's talking about the chocolate cake," Grace clarified from beside them as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh," Christian nodded his head.

"Anyways, you behaved extremely rudely with this poor girl. I'm sure you made her question if your parents taught you good manners or not. So, that's your punishment," she told to her son sternly.

"Why am I being punished, then?" Ana asked from beside her, confused.

"Your mother told me everything. I know what you did. It's your punishment too," Grace replied with a knowing look. Ana blushed instantly and avoided Grace's eyes.

"What am I missing?" Christian asked, curiously.

"Don't worry about it. I think I left my phone in the car. Why don't you go and get it?" Grace urged her son son to leave them alone for a while. Seeing no room for argument, Christian left. Once Grace was sure that her son was out of hearing range, she turned to Ana and said, "Ana dear, Ii know how annoying my son could can be... but there's a reason for that.,"

"What do you mean?"

"Ana... I didn't want to share something so personal about my son, but the way you two are behaving leaves me with no choice. Christian is emotionally vulnerable. He used to date this girl when he was in college. He was really in love with her and wanted to marry her. He even bought her a ring for her. One day he went to her dorm room to surprise her, when he heard her talking with her friends. She was telling her friendsthem how she had trapped Christian because he was a trust fund baby. She was planning on marrying him to get to his trust fund. Once she was done draining him, she was going to divorce him. My poor son was heart broken. He broke up with her that very day. Since then, he doesn't trust people easily and acts impulsively; especially if he feels attracted to that person. He unconsciously tries to run them away from his life. That's why he did what he did to you. Please go on this date and try to understand him morea little. I'm sure once you guys understand each other more, you won't fight this so much anymore. I'm pretty sure you two could be good friends... maybe even more," Grace requested.

Ana sighed in defeat. She felt guilty for her behavior. "Okay, fine. I'll go on a date with him. Only ONE date," she pointed out. Grace beamed at her, pleased.

Christian returned a few minutes later. Seeing his mother's beaming face, he sighed. It seemed Ana had agreed to the date. "Do I really have to take her to on a date?" he asked, defeatedly, as he handed Grace her phone.

"Yes, you do," Grace replied with a smirk.

"Fine. Be ready tonight around 7 pm," Christian said to Ana.

"Yeah... that's not possible. I've a busy schedule today. I'm have shit to do since you messed up my perfectly structured life," Ana replied pointedly.

"I did say I'll try to fix it, didn't I?" Christian huffed. "I've already talked to the head of PR of at GEH. She has a draft ready. After I look over it, I'll make the announcement. You'll get your public apology," he informed.

"Whatever,." Ana muttered.

"I'll be busy after 5 pm tomorrow. How about I pick you up in the morning instead? Around 10 am?" Christian suggested.

"Okay, I guess,."

**.**

**.**

**.**

Ana was waiting in the meeting room. Her phone pinged with a text alertalerted that she had a text. Ana opened the text and saw that it was from Christian. _**'I'll pick you up at 10 am. Wear a black, elegant dress. - C'**_ the text said. Ana closed her phone and started humming under her breath when the door opened and Jacob entered with two of the security officers.

"Uncle Jacob!" she greeted brightly.

"Hey, kiddo," Jacob replied with a soft smile as he returned Ana's fierce hug. "How have you been?" he asked opening pulling out a chair for Ana.

"You act surprisingly like a gentleman for a serial killer," Ana teased with a smirk.

Jacob gave her a blank look. "Honey, I'm still theat man who killed 16 couples in cold blood. You're my family. That's why I shower you with as much love and affection as I can. If you weren't, I wouldn't have even bothered to look at you. It's just that your mom and you conveniently forget this detail every time you come here," he ended dryly.

"Everyone knows you're a serial killer. I remember your modus operandi clearly. You don't need to remind me about itthat every time mom and I come here," Ana pouted.

"Let's not talk about it then. How have you been? You'r mom told me that you had hurt your foot? How are you now?" Jacob inquired.

"Eh... it healed in two weeks..." Ana trailed off. S, she wanted to tell Jacob about Christian, but she didn't want to spoil her uncle's mood. "There had werebeen some troubles in the last week or so, but everything is normal now. Anyways, your punishment period is over in 4 months, right? I'm really excited. What are you going to do after this? Have you thought of anything?"

"I think... I would like to write? Oor go to school to become a vet? Wwho knows? What's your favorite animal?" he asked.

"Both cats and dDogs. Oh! I forgot to tell you! I adopted a dog recently. He's really obedient and loyal. He doing responding really well at theto training," Ana beamed proudly.

Jacob smiled softly at his niece's happy smile. "I'm glad. How about I open a pet shelter for abandoned pets? You and your dog can volunteer," he suggested.

"Uncle, that's a great idea. As long as you don't plan on killing more people, I'm up for it," Ana said bluntly.

"No more killing. I'd like to spend rest of my days seeing you live your life.,"

"Thank you. How's the psychiatric consultation going?"

"It's good. I think I'll continue it even after I'm released. I don't want to go in down that path again," Jacob stated with a frown. It had takentook him years of therapy to understand what he did had done and why he shouldn't have done thatit. He felt extreme guilt for ruining so many innocent lives andlike that. He wanted to do something for those kids left behind due to his crimes.

"Uncle? Where dido you go?" Ana asked, breaking her uncle from his thoughts.

"Nothing. So, anything new happening that you want to tell me about?" Jacob asked raising his eyebrow.

"Mom told you about Christian, didn't she?" Ana asked dryly.

"She told me you were still fighting with that boy occasionally. She said she wanted you to befriend that boyhim since his mother had become a great friend to her.,"

"He's... ugh... we're going on a date tomorrow morning," Ana muttered, looking anywhere but at her uncle. "Aand he's not a boy. He's 28 years old," she added rolling her eyes. Jacob chuckled.

**.**

**.**

Ana had placed all of her black dresses on her bed and now s she stood in front of her the bed and stared at them. Tyson was standing beside her, staring between the bed and his mistress. He was confused about why his mistress was staring at so many black fabrics. He whined pitifully, earning a pat on his head. "I know, baby. I'm confused too," Ana stated absentmindedly. At In the end , she ended up choosing a simple off-shoulder Aa-line black short dress. The dress came to her mid- thigh. She chose a pair of black t-strap heels with a pair of diamond studs. Keeping the items in a corner, Ana went to sleep.

**The next morning **after having her breakfast, Ana started getting ready for the date. Donning her outfit, she finished her look with soft smokey eye makeup and mauve lipstick. Taking her black Hobbs Felicity velvet clutch, she went downstairs to her living room to wait for Christian. At 10 am sharp Christian rang the door bell. As soon as Ana opened the door, he asked, "Why don't you have any security guard in this building?"

"We do have a security personnel at the entrance of the fifth floor. For some reason, they keep graunting your entry here," Ana replied with a wry smile.

Christian smirked. "Ready to go?" he asked as he looked her up and down. "You're looking beautiful," he said added in a low tone.

"Thanks," Ana blushed, biting her lower lip. Christian was looking extra handsome in his black suit, white shirt, and black tie. "You're looking good too," she commented.

"Thanks. Shall we go?" he offered.

"Let me just take Tyson to my friend's apartment," Ana said before heading inside the apartment. Taking Tyson by his leash, Ana headed out of her apartment and knocked on Chloe's door. After leaving him there, Christian and she headed out.

"Can I asked you a question?" she asked after Christian got inside the car. Ana was a little surprised that Taylor was not driving him today.

"Yeah, sure," Christian replied glancing at her for a split second.

"Why are we dressed in formal clothes for a day- time date? I mean, you're even wearing a tie.,"

"The place where I'm taking you requires formal outfits," he replied easily.

"Okay. Where's Taylor?" she asked.

"He's following us in another car. Since it's a date, Ii thought I should personally drive us to the location.,"

"Okay... so, where are we going?" Ana finally asked.

"It's a ... surprise," Christian replied a little hesitantly.

**20 minutes later,** they were standing inside a funeral home. Ana was giving Christian confused looks. _**'Why the hell are we here?! It looks like someone is having a funeral,'**_ she wondered to herself. She looked around and saw a sign on the side of the door. The CEO of some company had passed away, it said.

"He was a client of mine. His company was one of the first companies I turned over," Christian informed.

It was by through this statement that Ana finally realized what was happening. He already had planned to come to this funeral. Since his mom had pushed him to take her to on a date, he decided he could do two things at once. That's why he had asked her to wear black. "I see," she muttered dryly.

"I'm glad you understand..." Christian said with a charming smile., "Bby the way, revenge is best served cold," he added as he pulled her inside the room where people were mourning the dead.

"You!" Ana was shushed by him.

"You started this prank war first. I forgave you for the ferret, but the body paint, phone in jello, and itching thing was too much. I had to get my revenge," Christian whispered in her ear smugly. , "I also threw those cameras away that you placed in my apartment. Seriously?! The bBathroom of all places?" he shook his head. He didn't want to confess that he was impressed by her pranks and flattered that she had kept cameras in his apartment. "Enjoyed watching me jerk off, did you?" he whispered seductively. Ana blushed instantly, revealing that she had indeed saw seen him masturbating.

"So... we're having funeral food for lunch?" Ana inquired sarcastically.

Christian snickered., "I thought about it, but I don't want to eat that food. That's why I brought a picnic basket.,"

"We're eating in your car then?"

"Hell no!" he scoffed., "I have a beautiful place in mind for our picnic," he informed with a sly smirk.

"Why do I think I won't like that beautiful place?" Ana asked suspiciously. Christian just pulled her fuarther in.

"That's Mr. Miarse's son," Christian pointed at a young man. He looked top be in his early to mid twenties.

"He's hot," Ana commented offhandedly.

"Are you really checking out other men in the middle of our date?" Christian hissed in disbeliefve.

"I'm not checking him out. I'm just saying he's hot. And you brought me to a funeral for our date! You should be thankful I didn't call your mom yet," Christian grimaced in answer before turning to look forward.

**.**

After the funeral was over, Christian took Ana's hand and they started strolling through the cemetery. "We're going to your car, right? For the picnic?"' Ana inquired, confused why they were lazily strolling around.

"No, we're not. I already texted Taylor to bring the picnic basket to us," Christian replied with an amused smile.

"Christian... where are we having this... picnic of yours?" Ana asked suspiciously as she stopped walking.

"You'll see," he replied mysteriously.

Soon, they were reached the other side of the cemetery. Taylor was already standing there with a disturbed look on his face. Ana was relieved that she wasn't the only one who thought Christian was crazy. Taking the picnic basket from Taylor's hand, Christian nodded at him. Giving him one more disturbed look, Taylor left the couple alone. Humming cheerfully, Christian placed a blanket on the glass. He was enjoying her bewilderment.

Ana stood by and gave him disbelieving looks before something daowned on her. She gasped softly at the realization. "Look, whatever I said to you till now and for all our arguments, I apologize. Since I didn't know it before, I just reacted. Now that I understand better... I won't bother you anymore. I understand that people who haves trouble with their brains can't stop from saying and doing whatever comes to their mind," Ana said sympathetically. Christian looked confused as hande stood up as he was done with the blanket and basket. "You know... since you're... a little... out of your ," she pointed at her head.

"You think I'm crazy?" Christian asked in disbeliefve.

"Look, you should never call a crazy person 'crazy'," Ana said gravely.

"Wh-what do you mean? I'm not cCrazy! Do I look crazy to you?" Christian yelled, angrily.

"Normal people don't yell like you," Ana replied, yelling back.

"I'm not crazy. You're crazy!" Christian retorted.

"No, you are.,"

"No, you are,"

"You're such a bitch," he hissed stepping closer to her.

"Thank you. I try," Ana replied with a satisfied smile.

"God, you're so annoying," Christian commented with a huff.

A menacing smile spread across Ana's face in response. "I didn't used to be, but then I met you," she said.

"You... just stop talking and come eat," Christian instructed.

"We're in the middle of a cemetery. We're not eating here. Please, let's go from here. We can eat in the car," Ana proposed., "Come on, Grey! Enough of this," she was practically begging at this point.

"Why? It's beautiful here," Christian stated with a smirk before he sat on the blanket and started taking the food out of the basket.

"Christian, I'm not eating in a cemetery," Ana whined.

"Why? Are you scared of ghosts?" he teased.

"No, I'm not scared of ghosts, but I am scared of germs. There are hundreds of dead people here. Can you imagine the amount of germs this place hasve? They must be flesh- eating germs, most probably.,"

"We're all going to go in a place like this anyway,. sso,o it doesn't matter. Come eat," he urged.

"Christian! Please!" Ana whined.

"Nope," he popped the 'p' with a mischievous smirk as he bit intoon his sandwich.

"I promise I won't pull another prank on you," Ana vowed, hoping he would change his mind.

"That's nice. But... I think I enjoyed them. Elliot and Mia haved tried to pull pranks on me for years, but they always failed. You, on the other hand, were successful. I'm impressed with your creativity with each prank... though I didn't enjoy being pink," Christian gave Ana a playful glare.

Ana giggled. "Yeah. It was so funny. Watching you running from room to room... looking pink," she was now full-out blown laughing.

"I can see how much you enjoyed it. Sooo... now it's my turn to enjoy this," Christian winked at her.

"You found a CEMETERY to pull on a prank? Seriously, Grey?! This place is so ... creepy! It's a mysophobic's nightmare," Ana stomped her feet in frustration.

"Do you have a **'Mysophobia'**?" Christian inquired.

"I didn't have it this morning, but I won't be surprised if I have it now," Ana replied dryly. Christian snickered and continued eating, while Ana huffed.

Christian was having too much fun teasing Ana. The idea of revenge had comecame to him when Grace had suggested they go on a date. He loved how well it turned out. He hoped that now that he had also pulled a prank on Ana, they could be friends now, for real this time. He was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts when something heavy hit the back of his head. Grabbing his head, he jumped away from his place and looked behind. Behind him was standing an old woman in red overcoat. She had short curly white hair, glasses and an angry sneer on her face. It was clear that she was wearing a black dress under her red coat.

"Umm... ouch?" he questioned.

"You spoiled brat! People are mourning the dead here, and you're having a picnic?" she scolded him loudly, but not before shooting a glare at Ana.

"I-I... no, I mean... I didn't mean...um any offence or anything," Christian stammered out. Of all the things, he had expected here to happen, THIS was not it.

"Mean no offence?!" the woman yelled before hitting him with her bag again.

"MA'AM!? Ana exclaimed in horror before she rushed forward to save Christian.

"Oooh! So, want to save your boyfriend, huh?! You brats!" the old woman started hitting both Christian and Ana.

Somehow, they managed to pack up the picnic basket. Taking Ana's hand, they Christian ran. The old woman chased them for a while before stopping to pant. By the time Christian and Ana ran out of the cemetery, both of them were a panting mess. Looking behind to check if that woman was still following them or not, they sighed in relief when they realized that she had stopped. "Thank God," Ana breathed out before looking at Christian. When their eyes met, they both burst into laughter instantly.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**A/N: So, did you enjoy Christian's revenge? Lmao.**


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER: **** Fifty shades of Grey or its' characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.**

**Thanks so much to my awesome Beta, Ninkita**

**.**

***Information:***

Ana and her friends = 24 years old

Christian = 28 years old

Mia = 22 years old

Elliot = 30 years old

**.**

**.**

**Chapter - 11:**

**.**

Ana and Christian were still snickering when they entered the car. Every time they glanced at each other, they would start laughing again. It took them nearly 15 minutes to finally stop their snicker- fest. "That was..… oh my God! She literally started beating you with her bag. I thought stuff like that only happened in cartoons," Ana stated between giggles.

"Yeah... Damn! That was crazy... you know, she reminded me of my granny," Christian laughed.

"Is she as cranky as that old lady?" Ana asked curiously. She had never met her grandparents, so she was kind of envious.

"Cranky? No. But she never hesitates from to pulling our ears if we do some mischief; even dad gets his ears pulled every now and then," Cchristian explained.

"That sounds amazing," Ana smiled.

"So... since the funeral is over, my revenge is taken, and neither one of us want to risk meeting that old woman again, shall we go somewhere normal to eat?" Christian suggested with a mischievous smile.

"Yes, please," Ana replied instantly. "Wait... are you going to pull another prank?" she asked, wryly.

"I will take revenge for each of the pranks you pulled on me, but for today, I'm done," Christian wiggled hise eyebrows with a smirk.

Ana laughed. "You can't pull pranks as good as mineght," she challenged smugly.

"We shall see," Christian muttered before starting the car.

Soon, they reached a restaurant where Christian had a stand-in reservation. He opened the door for Ana and helped her out. Handing the keys of the car to the valet, they headed inside. They were shown in to one of the private rooms. Like a gentleman, Christian opened held out Ana's chair for her.

"Thank you," Ana gave him a small smile.

"So... I've been wanting to ask you a something for a while," Christian started, taking his seat.

"What is it?"

"That day..." he was interrupted by the waiter.

"Good afternoon, Sir, Ma'am. Did Have you decided your drinks?" the waiter inquired.

"What would you like?" Christian asked.

"Some wine would nice," Ana replied with a shrug.

"Should I choose?"

"Sure. Why not?" Ana pointed at the menu. Nodding, Christian ordered their wine. The waiter left taking their drink menus. "So, what were you asking?" Ana asked when they were alone again.

"I wanted to ask you about... about the USB drivers the police found in your apartment. Did all of them really contained porn?" he asked leaning forward with a curious look on his face.

"Yeah. I like porn. I love to binge watch them," Ana replied easily.

"All 27 of the USBs?"

"Yeah. Each one holds a different genre," Ana replied with a smirk, as Christian's eyes darkened at the thought.

"Your drinks," the waiter announced, interrupting them again. "Are you ready to order?" he asked.

"Christian, would you mind sharing your food?" Ana asked.

"I don't mind.,"

"Then let's order two different items and then we can share," Ana suggested.

"Sounds good to me. I'd like the beef wellington," Christian said to the waiter.

"And I'd like the shrimp fried rice," Ana added. With a nod, the waiter left.

"So, do you only earn money or do you chill as well?" Ana asked.

"I'm not some loner. I do have friends. My best friend, Stephen, is in the army and currently deployedorted. His tour would will be over soon and he will be back on USA soil. My other friends live in different states,, that's why we don't get to hang-out often," Christian shrugged.

"That's sad. I won't be able to function properly without my friends. They are my safe heaven. People I can trust with my whole being,."

"I feel the same about Stephen. We bonded over the mutual losse of our parents. He also lost his parents when he was young. So, he was like my brother. I wanted him to come home with me when I dropped out of college, but he wanted to finish college and then enroll in the army. I didn't want to stand between his dreams. So, I made him promise that he would come to Seattle after his first tour," Christian explained.

"Um... Christian? I-I never asked, but... how did your parents die?" Ana asked curiously.

"My parents loved each other a lot, but due to their busy schedules, they didn't get to spend much time together. After several weeks of their hectic routine, they had finally managed to get one weekend free. I was staying with my uncle's family when my parents went for a weekend holiday. On their way back, a drunk driver hit their car. They died instantly," Christian shared as sadness shoined through his eyes.

"How did you come to be with the Greys then? I thought they adopted you," Ana was puzzled.

"They did adopt me. Carrick Grey is my dad's younger brother, my uncle., Mom was my biological mom's best friend. So, they always loved me like their own child," Christian explained with a sad smile.

Ana smiled at that, relieved. In a small corner of her mind, she had been dreading this doubt that maybe Jacob had killed Christian's parents. She was glad that wasn't's not the case. She never wanted to meet one of his victim's' familiesy. She felt bad for them, but she loved the man who had brought her into the world. She knew what Jacob did was disgusting and inhuman. She just didn't hate him for his past deeds. She knew that he had surrendered after he helped her mom in the delivery. Directly or indirectly, he gave Ana life and she was grateful for that. She loved him despite his past.

"You look lost. What are you thinking about?" Christian inquired.

"Nothing serious. Just thankful for the life I have," she gave him a soft smile.

**.**

**.**

"This wasn't so bad," Ana commented with a shrug. As their date had progressed, both Christian and Ana had relaxed marginally.

"I agree. When mom suggested it, I thought for sure we would end up killing each other by the end of the day," Christian stated with a slight chuckle.

"You weren't a jerk today. That made a huge difference," Ana smirked,ing before taking a huge bite out of her cone ice-cream cone. Suddenly, she shrieked, "UGH! Brain freeze!"

Christian burst into laughter and ended up snorting ice-cream through his nose. Ana giggled at his surprised face. Once they calmed down, they went back to enjoying their ice-creams. "Will you go on another date with me?" he asked suddenly, making sure to not look at her face.

Ana stopped eating and glanced at him. "Whose funeral is it this time?" she asked wryly.

Christian chuckled. "No ones. I want to take you on an honest to god date. We had fun after leaving the cemetery, right? So, why not try it again... without the funeral and cemeteries," he shrugged shyly.

Ana could feel her cheeks getting red. "Um... I'd like that," she whispered.

"Oh! Just because I'm taking you on dates now, doesn't mean I won't take revenge for each of the pranks you pulled on me," Christian added with a cheeky smile.

"Bring it on, Grey. You can't top me. I'm the prank queen," Ana boaosted.

"We shall see.,"

**.**

**.**

**.**

**Three weeks passed by.** Christian and Ana had gone to on two other dates and so far, they were pretty normal as far as dates gowent. Ana soon forgot that Christian had promised retribution for the pranks she had pulled on him. She had been busy with overseeing the construction workers, as they had started to work on her new apartment on the 7th floor. Ana was really excited to move into her new apartment. Tyson didn't have much large play space in the loft, so she wanted him to have that space in the new place. She had designed a special place area in the new apartment just for him.

The dog obedience and training class she had joined with Tyson had also paid off. She loved spending time with her pet. Even though it was had been an impulsive decision to adopt him so suddenly, Ana was happy about it. She didn't hadn't realized how empty her loft was before Tyson. Yes, she would bewas with her friends most of the day, but at home, she was a little lonely. Bringing Tyson into her life had erased that. Since Christian and Ana was were now on good terms, he would often join Ana, Tyson, and Nicolas in the morning for their jog. Tyson had also warmed up to Christian.

Now, Ana was packing her smaller luggage bag so for the her upcoming trip, as s. She had a meeting with one of their California clients. "Are you done packing?" Kate inquired, biting into the apple.

"Yeah. All done. I'll be gone fore four days, right? Ccan you make sure to check on Tyson for me? Bill took responsibility for Tyson,'s responsibility and I'm a little scared. He might get busy fighting with Jose and forget to feed Tyson," Ana said with an amused smile.

Kate snickered in agreement. Ana was right. Jose and Bill were both very flamboyant. Only The only difference was that Bill was straight and Jose was not. They were best friends but they would fight 99 percent of the time over who was more beautiful. It had happened in the past when both Jose and Bill had forgotten to do something because they were busy fighting with each other. "Don't worry, Ana. Tom and Nicolas both promised to look after Tyson. Bill will just _THINK _that he's the one looking after Tyson," Kate assured.

Ana laughed. "We're so bad. I know Bill will honestly look after Tyson and will be extra careful with him. But..."

"But it's too much fun to tease him," Kate finished laughing.

"Ana?! You done yet? We should leave for the airport in 15 minutes," Liam called out from the bottom of the stairs before he climbed up. "Why do you always leave the packing for the last minute?" he asked, frustrated.

Ana chuckled at his reaction. "I'm done. Give me 5 minutes and we can go. Why don't you take the bag downstairs while I say bye to Tyson," she suggested. Giving her a smile and a saolute to Kate, Liam took the bag and left. Ana handed Tyson to Bill and explained her dog's routine.

They reached the airport in 35 minutes. Liam left after dropping Ana off. Grabbing her white luggage, she headed inside. After completing the necessary proceedings, she sat down to wait for her flight to be announced. She started playing games on her phone. Bored by the game, Ana looked up to see the time when she noticed something strange. The man sitting in front of her was reading a news paper. No, that wasn't the strange part. The strange thing was that the news paper had her photo on the front page with the words **'Suspect on the run'** written as the tittle.

Ana blinked rapidly, thinking she might be mistaking someone else as herself, but no. The photo remained unchanged. A few minutes later the man left, taking the paper with him. Then she heard a chime and announcing machine suddenly chimed and the announcer stared announcing:, **"ATTENTION PLEASE! THE FOLLOWING PERSON IS WANTED. FEMALE, 5'.4" TALL, LONG BROWN HAIR. SHE'S WEARING BLUE JEANS, WHITE T-SHIRT AND FADED GREEN JACKET. NOTIFY THE AIRPORT AUTHORITIES IMMEDIATELY IF YOU NOTICE HER."**

Ana listened to the announcement with a puzzled frown on her face. The announcer had just described her. She couldn't understand what was happening. Then the news segment on the TVs came up. The news announcer said, **"WELCOME TO THE BREAKING NEWS! THE POLICE ARE SEARCHING FOR THIS WOMAN,"** he said showing Ana's photo. **"THE OFFENDER IS 5'.4" TALL, LONG BROWN HAIR. SHE'S WEARING BLUE JEANS, WHITE T-SHIRT AND FADED GREEN JACKET. SHE IS CONSIDERED DANGEROUS AND UNPREDICTABLE. PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO APPROACH OR APPREHEND THIS PERSON,."** he added.

Ana noticed that other passengers around her had started giving her suspicious looks and whispering to each other before shifting away from leaving the seats closer around herto her. "I didn't do anything, I swear," Ana tried to explain to one of the passengers who squeaked and ran away from her. "I don't understand," Ana muttered, confused and stressed. She didn't understand why all these this was happening. Did one of her clients did something and trapped her? she didn't know.

All of a sudden she noticed a few of the airport security guardsies approaching her. "Are you Anastasia Steele?" one of the asked.

"Uum... yeah?"

"We have a massage for you," the security personnel said before nodding at the other guard. Ana finally noticed that the other guard was carrying a silver briefcase. The guard opened the case and turned it towards her. Inside, in large letters were was written: "IT'S A PRANK!" The TV and and announcing machine started playing "Just a Prank bro" by PewDiePie", and the people around her started clapping and laughing as Ana stared at the briefcase in shock.

A slow clap grabbed her attention as a smug figure came into view. Ana barely noticed as tThe security guards left.

"Sooooo?" he asked with a smirk.

"Christian Grey! You... you..." Ana stood up from her seat and she pointed at him and stammered, "You... you... you terribly, brilliant man!" Sshe grinned up at him before jumping in his arms., "That was super creative. OH MY GOD! That was the best prank anyone has ever pulled on me!" she was bouncing on her feet.

Christian laughed as he hugged her back. He had thought she would be pissed, but it seemed Ana had loved his revenge prank. Pulling back, Christian held her smiling face in his hands tenderly. Noticing his intense look, Ana blushed before glancing at his lips. Smiling softly at her silent request, he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. Ana's breath caught in her throat. No one had ever made her feel this trembling fire in the pit of her stomach before with just a simple kiss. He had managed to bring out her inner desire to the surface without much effort. Her blue eyes gazed at his grey ones. It had just been one short kiss, but tThere was nothing more they wanted right then but to tear apart each other's clothes. Unfortunately, tThey both knew it was impossible at the moment.

"I need to go," Ana whispered., "They are announcing my flight," she added after clearing her throat.

"Take my plane," Christian insisted.

"That's not necessary. I can make do in the normal one," Ana gave him a smile before they pulled back some more.

"You'll be gone fore four days?" he asked, peeking at her blushing face.

"Yeah.,"

"I'll miss you," he stated in a matter of fact tone.

"So, will I. I must really go now.,"

"See you soon," Christian waved. And with that, Ana left.

A chime from his phone brought Christian's attention to his phone. Glancing at his phone screen, he saw that he had an email. Curious, he opened the notification and a large smile came to his face. He had been waiting for this email for years.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**A/N: Who do you think that email is from? Did you like Christian's revenge? Those who were worried for , I quote 'Poor Christian!' end quote, I hope you're glad to see that Christian is not some helpless victim as you all seemed to think. He will take revenge for all the pranks done on him. **

**.**

**PS: I have really bad news.** NO, I'm **NOT** stopping THIS STORY! I just got a new job that I started this Saturday after TWO years of struggle. So, instead of uploading once every week, I might upload once two weeks. **It's not definite yet. **I just have to get my bearing at this job. Please, please stay with me and have patience.


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER: **** Fifty shades of Grey or its characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.**

**Thanks so much to my awesome Beta, Ninkita**

**.**

***Information:***

Ana and her friends = 24 years old

Christian = 28 years old

Mia = 22 years old

Elliot = 30 years old

Stephen = 28 years old  
**_[I'm casting Stephen Amell as Stephen of my story ;)]_**

**.**

**.**

**Chapter - 12:**

**.**

Coming back to GEH, Christian hurried to his office. He wanted to read his long-awaited email. Grinning excitedly, he waved at Ros and Andrea. They were left staring after him as Christian closed his office's door behind him. Almost running to his chair, he opened the laptop. He couldn't stop the excited wiggle he did in his chair, feeling like a 5-year-old. He opened the email after taking a deep breath. "_Hey Fucker!_" at the greeting, Christian chuckled, before he continued to read.

"_How have you been? I know you've been waiting for this email for years now. So, I won't torture you much and tell you. I'm back in states. I've returned last month from Afghanistan. Sorry, I couldn't contact you earlier. I needed to fulfill some formalities before I could retire from the army. Now that everything here is done, I can finally come to Seattle. My flight lands in Seattle tomorrow morning around 8 am. Will I see you there? Waiting for me? I know I will._

_Christian, thanks for being my family. I miss you my friend. See you soon._

_Yours,_

_Stephen_"

Christian smiled. He considered Stephen as his own brother. If they hadn't met in college but a few years earlier, he would've insisted that his parents adopt Stephen as well. Stephen's parents had also died the same year Christian's had. So, he felt a kinship to Stephen. Sighing in relief, he pressed the intercom button. "Andrea, Ask Taylor to come to my office. Oh! and send Ros in, please."

Two minutes later, Ros entered his office with a curious look on his face. "Are you ready to propose already? I thought you had just started dating," she inquired before taking a seat in front of Christian.

"What are you rambling about, you crazy woman?" Christian gave her an amused look.

"Ana. You just started dating her. You look a little too happy for a simple date. So, I thought maybe you're ready to propose," Ros shrugged.

"That's not it. We've just started seeing the good in each other. So, it will take some time to reach that stage where I even... think about proposing her," Christian explained. "No, my best friend is coming back after 7 years. He's been away for far too long," he added with a smirk.

"Do you mean to say... that Stephen is coming?" Ros squealed excitedly. Ever since she had started working for Christian 6 years ago, she had heard a lot about Stephen. She almost felt like she knew him personally.

"Yeah. tomorrow," Christian answered, beaming.

"You must be really excited. Is he moving in with you?" Ros inquired.

Christian laughed out loudly. "No. I kept one of the apartments in Escala empty for him. He'll move in there... I hope. He can be super stubborn," he sighed.

"Anyways, you called me for something?" Ros asked, getting serious.

"Yeah. I will be busy with Stephen the next few days. As you know, there are several important meetings scheduled at the same time. I need you to attend them for me."

"Yeah, sure. I'll get Andrea to send my assistant the schedule. Go have fun. I've got it," Ros assured.

"Thanks, Ros."

**.**

**.**

**Next day. **Christian was back at the airport. He was nervously pacing back and forth, waiting for Stephen to come out. His plane had landed a few minutes ago. He was glancing around when someone called out, "CHRIS!"

Christian looked towards the sound and found his best friend heading towards him with a large smile on his face. "STEPHEN!" he greeted when Stephen reached him. They hugged each other, laughing in relief. "Oh man! It's so good see you!" Christian exclaimed excitedly.

"Absolutely, man! I thought this day would never come," Stephen stated pulling back. Christian was the only family he had in this world. Even his emergency contact was Christian.

"I've been worried sick for you," Christian sighed in relief before finally looking at his best friend up and down. "Look at you. You look like one of those beefy firefighters," he teased.

Stephen posed smugly. "I know. I look hot," he replied with a smirk. "I can see you put on some muscles too," he added.

"I work out," Christian replied before they both laughed. "Let's go home. I didn't get much for your apartment. Only the bed and fixed the closet in the master bedroom. We can get other things later. Till everything is ready you will live with me in the penthouse," Christian informed.

"Wait... what are you talking about? What apartment?" Stephen asked, puzzled.

"I kept an apartment in the building I live ready for you. I wanted you to have a home to come back to," Christian replied.

"Christian, thank you... but I can't take it. I want to join the city firefighters. I want to do things on my own," Stephen explained, apologetic.

"A firefighter? Why? You just came back from a dangerous job," Christian sighed in frustration.

Stephen laughed. "I'll be fine," he said patting his friend's back.

They headed out of the airport. Christian was determined to change Stephen's mind, though he knew once Stephen had decided something, he would stick to it. Taylor was waiting for them at the waiting area. "Taylor, meet Stephen, my best friend," Christian introduced.

"Hello, sir," Taylor greeted stoically.

"Hi, I'm Major Stephen Whitley," Stephen greeted politely, shaking Taylor's hand. "Army or Marine?" he asked.

"Marine, Major Whitley. It's a pleasure to meet you," Taylor smiled. He opened the door for Christian who had a proud smile on his face. They headed towards Escala soon after.

"So, how have you been?" Stephen asked.

"I'm good. I... uh... I started dating... kind of," Christian replied with a wry smile.

"That's great news, man. Wait... what do you mean by 'kind of'?" Stephen asked turning towards him.

"The girl I'm dating, Ana, we didn't get along well. We each did some things and it escalated. So, mom interfered and as a punishment, she sent us to go on a date. On the date we realized that when we weren't fighting, we were a great match," Christian shrugged shyly.

"She must be someone special to make Christian Grey blush like a thirteen-year-old," Stephen teased, beaming that his friend was finally moving forward. "Hey, what did you mean you both did some things?"

"I... I... may have... accused her of stealing," Christian mumbled. He felt ashamed for how he had reacted that day. He now realized how awful he had been to her that day.

"Wow... talk about screwing up," Stephen grimaced. "So, how did she react?"

"Well... she pulled some brilliant pranks on me in my own apartment in a way that even my IT personnel and security in-charge were not able to find any proof of," Christian informed with a proud smirk.

"Wait a minute!" Taylor exclaimed. "That was Ms. Steele's doing?" he asked in astonishment.

"You didn't understand that with the airport prank I pulled on her?" Christian asked, amused.

"So, THAT's why you pulled such an elaborate prank on her. I was wondering why you scared that poor girl like that," Taylor was laughing by now.

"What did he do?" Stephen asked Taylor. Excitedly, Taylor started telling him the airport prank. "Yikes! That was serious! You could've given that girl a heart attack!" Stephen stared at his best friend in shock.

"Don't worry. I asked her mom about her heart condition before doing it. I'm not an idiot. I was trying to pull a prank; not kill the girl I'm dating," Christian rolled his eyes.

"You have the weirdest way to woo a girl," Stephen snickered.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Ana had a busy day. As soon as she landed in California, she had back-to-back meetings. Exhausted, she collapsed on the bed in her hotel room. A chirping noise made her turn towards her phone. Opening the text, she saw that it was from Christian.

"_You looked beautiful tonight... 3 -C_" it said.

Blushing, Ana replied, "_You didn't even see me... :p -A_"

"_I didn't have to. I missed you today. -C_"

"_Me too. Have fun thinking up more pranks. ;) -A_"

"_I already have a brain full of interesting ideas. LOL. Good Night. -C_"

"_Good night. -A_" Smiling, Ana put her phone down.

After taking a shower and changing into her pale pink silk pajamas, she got in the bed. She closed her eyes, hoping that her exhaustion would put her to sleep, but it was unsuccessful. She had a rather strange encounter that day. After her second meeting, she was getting of the clients' office building when she saw a familiar person walking out of the cafe next door. Surprised to see a familiar face, Ana had approached the man. "Mr. Hyde! Hey! How are you?" she had greeted him with a smile.

The man looked startled to see her. "Ms. Steele? Is this really... you?" he sounded really surprised.

"Yes, it is me, Mr. Hyde. What a coincidence! I came to California for some meetings. What are you doing here? Last time we met, you were in Seattle," Ana commented.

"Ah... yeah. It's... I moved here two weeks ago," he said. "I... ah... needed to move on," he added before a strange smile lit up his face, "but it seems the universe had different plans."

Ana had felt confused at his last statement. "I don't understand," she said.

"Nothing," he shook his head before suddenly grabbing her for a tight hug. "It's really nice to meet you."

Awkwardly and uneasily, Ana had patted his back. She didn't understand why he was so excited to see her. They were mere acquaintances and nothing more. "Um... okay. Glad you're feeling good," she muttered, trying to pull away.

"Would you like to have coffee?" he asked, finally pulling away.

"I can't, I'm sorry. I've to get to another meeting on the other side of the city," Ana stepped away from him with an apologetic smile.

"Next time then," Jack said with a charming smile.

"Yeah... I guess," Ana muttered. After that she left and went on her way. Still, his behavior had felt kind strange to her. Shaking her head to clear away the thought, Ana snuggled into her pillow and closed her eyes.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**The next day, **Christian and Stephen arrived at the Grey manor for dinner. Grace and Carrick were really fond of Stephen. When the boys were in college, every vacation Christian would force Stephen to come with him. As Stephen had no family on his own, the Grey family had become his pseudo-family. So, the Greys were also equally excited to have Stephen back in the States.

"Oh Stephen, dear boy! It's so good to see you," Grace hugged Stephen tightly. "I was so worried," she sighed as she tried to blink away her tears.

"Thanks for all the care packages you sent me," Stephen said, trying to make her laugh.

"Shut up, you," Grace slapped his shoulder after pulling away, laughing through tears.

"Mom, let us greet him too," Elliot complained. Shooting him a mildly irritated look, Grace moved away from Stephen. "Stephen, my man! Looking good!" Elliot hugged Stephen and patted hard on his back.

Stephen was wearing a brown Henley with beige pants. He wanted to shave off his five o'clock shadow, but Christian assured him that he looked more handsome with it. "Thanks. Just what I wanted to hear," Stephen smirked.

"Do you have an eight pack? I heard army officers all have eight packs!" Mia asked with curiosity.

Before Stephen could actually reply, Christian wrapped his arm around his sister and said, "Nope. You're not allowed to think about male bodies yet," before pushing her inside the house. The others followed behind them, amused.

"I'm 22 years old," Mia stated dryly, not amused.

"We will revisit this conversation when you're 30," Christian replied, rolling his eyes.

"What?! DAD!" Mia whined, stomping her feet.

"That's not helping your case," Elliot pointed out, smirking.

"Christian, stop teasing you sister. She can date when she's 25," Carrick said sternly.

"BOYS!" Grace growled at her husband and sons, making them wince. "Mia is a grown woman and she can date whoever she wants," she added sternly.

"Thank you, mom," Mia sighed in relief before poking her tongue at her father and brothers.

"Of course, if you get pregnant out of an one night stand, we will disown you," Grace stated casually before heading to the kitchen.

"Wait... what?! But mom," Mia followed after Grace to complain.

"Does that mean if Mia gets pregnant in any other situation, it's okay?" Stephen asked, confused as the Grey males stared after Grace in disbelief.

**.**

"So... did you guys meet the girl Christian's been dating?" Stephen asked as they sat to drink coffee after dinner.

"Dating?! What is he talking about, Christian? What about Ana?" Grace asked angrily. "Are you dating two women at once?" she asked, getting more riled up.

Shooting a glare at Stephen, who gave him a guilty look, Christian turned to his mother. He had noticed that his dad and siblings were also glaring at him. "Mom, he's talking about Ana. No, I'm not dating two women at once," he stated dryly.

Grace brightened up instantly. "Really?! Christian dear, that's great news! I knew when you two stop fighting, you will see how perfect you are for each other," she gushed excitedly.

"Oh my god! That's awesome!" Mia squealed.

"Finally!" Elliot sighed in relief. "There was so much sexual tension between the two of you that every time you guys fought I was afraid you would start fucking in front of us," he added with a smirk.

"Language," Grace stated slapping the back of Elliot's head as Christian glared at his brother.

"I'm glad. Call me when you want to go ring shopping. I can't wait to make that girl my daughter-in-law," Carrick said nonchalantly.

Christian was taking a sip from his coffee when Carrick said that. Poor Christian ended up choking on his coffee. Clearing his throat, he asked, "Ring shopping? Seriously?!"

Carrick just shrugged in response. "I like her. She's perfect for you," he said with an affectionate smile.

"Back to my concerns," Stephen interrupted. "Since everyone knows and likes her, what kind of girl is she? Tell me more. How did you meet her and where?" he asked. Excitedly, everyone started telling him about their encounters with Ana.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**4 days later.**

Ray was waiting for her when Ana got out of the airport. "Daddy!" she squealed excitedly. She had missed her dad.

"Hey, baby girl! How was your trip?" he asked after pulling away from the tight hug his daughter gave him.

"It was... a SUCCESS! We got another two new publishing companies under our belt. I'm so happy," Ana beamed.

"I'm really proud of you, kiddo," Ray said wrapping his arm around his daughter. "Everything is going good in our world... only if your mom agrees to marry me again, I'll be a happy man," he added with a sigh.

Ana giggled. "You do realize that she feels flattered each time you propose to her, right?"

"I know. That's why I keep proposing. I get to reap the benefits of those proposals later in the night," Ray smirked.

"Eeewww! DAD!" Ana grimaced, shaking her head to get rid of the image. Ray snickered at his daughter's reaction.

After having lunch together, Ray dropped Ana off in front of the Steele tower. Alyssa was waiting for her at the door. She helped Ana to take her luggage upstairs to her apartment. Bill was already there, having brought Tyson back there from his apartment. "Hey, sweet boy," Ana greeted as soon as she entered the apartment.

"Hey, Annie," Bill greeted.

"I don't think she was greeting you," Alyssa stated with an amused smirk.

Frowning, Bill looked at the doorway to find that Tyson had run up to Ana and was giving her puppy kisses as Ana cooed at her dog. "Mean," Bill muttered pouting.

"Oh! Hey, Billa," Ana finally greeted the pouting boy.

"I see where we stand," Bill said folding his hands over his chest. "You greeted the dog first," he gave her a stink eye.

"It's not my fault that my dog is cuter," Ana replied with a smirk before laughing. The friends hugged. "I missed your crazy ass. How have you been? Was Tyson good?" she asked.

"Everything was under control. Jose and I only fought 23 times. Tyson was a good boy," Bill informed proudly.

"Only 23 times?! Wow... impressive," Ana commented wryly.

"Hell ya, it's impressive," Bill replied haughtily. Ana snickered at his tone.

With the promise of a night out, Ana bid her friends goodnight. She took a shower and changed into her two-piece red satin pajamas before going to bed. Even though it was only 8 pm, she felt exhausted. Yawning, she snuggled under her fluffy blanket. Within minutes, she was deeply asleep.

Around 10 pm, the door of Ana's apartment opened. Caleb entered the apartment and moved aside to let Christian in. "Remember... I don't know anything about this. You stole her key from me," Caleb stated with a smirk.

"You got it. I'm not going to tell Ana that you helped me with this prank," Christian replied with a smirk on his own. Caleb and he had bonded when Christian had come to the library the day before.

"I really don't want her to start pranking me again before I can settle my score with her for her last pranks," Caleb shrugged.

"So, it's not just me who had to deal with the prank war?" Christian inquired curiously.

"No. Ana takes her revenge through pranks. We all have been on the other side of her pranks."

"Good to know. Now, you might want to go if you want to claim plausible deniability," Christian suggested.

"See you later," with a wave, Caleb left.

Smiling mischievously, Christian walked up to the loft. Tyson was sleeping by the bed on his doggie bed. Hearing Christian's footsteps, Tyson jumped up from his bed and was getting ready to attack. Hurriedly, Christian gave Tyson the treats he had brought along, and waited until the dog was calmer than before. When Tyson relaxed, Christian pulled on his mask and crawled up the bed. Then he stopped to stare at Ana. A soft smile came to his face. He didn't know how it happened, but he really, really liked her. He felt giddy whenever they were together. His heart seemed to expend and beat faster whenever he looked at her. Moving his mask for a second, he placed a kiss on her forehead before he went back to his agenda, AKA staring at her. When she didn't respond after 5 minutes, he decided to pull on her hair a little.

Ana was deep in sleep, but she her spidey senses were tingling like crazy. She felt like someone was staring at her. She ignored it and tried to go back to sleep but then... someone pulled on her hair. Moaning her displeasure, she opened her eyes blearily. Instantly, a scream tore through her. She jumped up from her bed screaming. The man with a scary joker mask tried to touch her. Ana was too scared to sit there like an idiot. She pushed the man away from her, and ran out of the loft, screaming for help. The man followed behind her, laughing the whole time. Something about him seemed familiar, but Ana was too scared to focus on that. She had almost reached the door of her apartment, when she heard the man speak.

"WAIT... ANA! It's me! Look!" the man said.

She didn't want to turn around, but his voice was really familiar. Hesitantly she turned around and was shocked. "Christian?! You... you... it's you?" she exclaimed. She felt like her heart was beating so fast that it might jump out of her chest.

"Hey. You okay?" he asked between his laughs.

"That was so mean! You scared the shit out of me," Ana whined stomping her feet.

"I'm sorry," Christian said trying to control his laughter.

"Asshole," she pouted.

"I missed you," he said before taking her in his arms.

Ana hugged him back tightly. She breathed in his amazing smell as her heart slowed down to a normal speed. "I missed you too," she whispered.

.

.

.

**A/N: I know two weeks are a long time to wait. But due to my new job, I didn't have enough time to write. So, instead of every Tuesday, I'll upload every other Tuesday. Thank you for staying with me. **

**Now, do you like Stephen and Christian's relation? I'm imagining Stephen Amell as my Stephen. He's just too dreamy...lol**


	13. Chapter 13

**DISCLAIMER: **** Fifty shades of Grey or its characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.**

**Thanks so much to my awesome Beta, Ninkita**

**.**

***Information:***

Ana and her friends = 24 years old

Christian = 28 years old

Mia = 22 years old

Elliot = 30 years old

Stephen = 28 years old **[**I'm casting Stephen Amell as Stephen of my story ;)**]**

**.**

**.**

**Chapter - 13:**

**.**

After Ana calmed down, she offered Christian coffee. Soon, they were curled up on the living room couch with their coffee. "You got those publishers you wanted?" Christian asked, taking a sip from his cup.

"Yeah. Hopefully these new clients will bring back some of our lost clients."

"I'm really sorry about that. I should've investigated more before accusing you like that," Christian said regretfully.

"Let bygones be bygones, Christian," Ana waved off his apology. "By the way... how did you enter my apartment? Only my mom and friends have the key to this apartment. My mom lost hers a few weeks ago. So... which one of my traitor friends helped you?" she asked with a smirk on her face.

Christian snickered hiding behind his coffee cup. "Sorry, I can't tell you. I'm vowed to secrecy," he replied, amused.

"I'll find out sooner or later," Ana warned jokingly. "So, what did you do in the last 4 days?" she inquired sipping her coffee.

"Remember that day I told you about my best friend?"

"The one in defense? Um... Steve, no... Steven? That's the one, right?" Ana tried to remember the name.

Christian chuckled. "It's Stephen and yes, that's the one. He returned from his tour a few weeks ago. He surprised me by sending an email the day you left. I picked him up from the airport the day after you left. I've been spending time with him since then," he said with a happy smile.

"That's great news. Hopefully, you'll loosen up a little now," Ana teased before yawning.

"I'm the cool one between the two of us. He has always been really serious," Christian protested before noticing how tired Ana looked. "You should go back to sleep. I'm going to head out," he said.

"Okay. Drive safe," Ana said, fighting her yawns. They got up from the couch and she walked him to the door. "Thanks for coming to check on me... even though you scared the hell out of me," she giggled.

"I wanted to see you. Scaring you was just an added bonus," Christian gave her his special crooked grin.

"Good night, Christian."

"Goodnight, Ana." Neither of them moved though. They lingered at the doorway. "I should go," Christian said softly.

"Yeah."

Seeing Ana biting her lip nervously as she stared at him with hopeful eyes, Christian stepped closer and pulled her in for a tight hug. After a long moment, he pulled away and turned to leave. Ana frowned before grabbing his jacket and pulling him back to her. She smashed her lips against his. Christian was startled for a moment, but soon found his rhythm. Enthusiastically, they kissed each other until oxygen became necessary. Pulling back, Christian rested his forehead against Ana's and smiled. After getting their breathing under control, Christian went home and Ana went back to bed.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Stephen was lying on the couch in the living room reading a book. It had been a long time since he got any free time to read a book. The sound of the main door opening drew his eyes away from the book. He saw Christian entering the penthouse with a smile on his face. Stephen had thought that Christian had gone to the office, but instead Christian was casually dressed in dark grey form fitting jeans, light grey button down shirt and black leather jacket. His clothes brought out his bright grey eyes even more.

"Where did you go looking like a model?" Stephen asked with teasing smile.

"Ana came back from her trip. I went to meet her," Christian answered taking a seat on the other side of the sectional. "What have you been up to, Stiffy?" he asked. His smirk widened when Stephen glared at him. Christian knew Stephen hated this nickname. So, he always made sure to call Stephen by that name.

"It was NOT funny in college; it's not now," Stephen stated dryly before going back to his book. "So... this Ana? How serious is this?" he asked glancing at Christian.

"We've only gone on four dates so far. It's too early to tell," Christian shrugged.

"You guys had sex yet?" Stephen asked curiously, closing his book.

"No. We... um... we kissed... a few times," Christian answered blushing.

"I thought people had sex after the 3rd date... or am I wrong?" Stephen was confused.

"We didn't really talk about it. I mean the attraction is there, but other than initiating a kiss or holding hands, we haven't done anything. Of course, I hugged her," Christian mused.

Stephen gave his friend a disbelieving look. "Why so slow? I thought people kiss on the first date and by the third date they are ready to have sex. And what do you mean you 'hugged' her. Hugging counts as romantic for adults as well? I thought that only happens in elementary school."

Christian glared at his friend. "I don't want to push her for more," he said sulkily.

"Is it because of that bitch in college?" Stephen asked softly.

"Hell no!" Christian scoffed in disdain.

"Then what is it?"

"I did the sex thing before. It lost its appeal soon. I genuinely like Ana. So, I thought I should spend more time getting to know her instead of thinking about sex," Christian explained.

"That's a good way of thinking. It means you're serious about her. Hey, why don't you invite her here for dinner? I want to meet her," Stephen suggested.

"Good idea. I'll get Gail to cook Ana's favorite foods," Christian agreed excitedly.

"Why don't you cook yourself? That will be extra romantic," Stephen suggested, sitting up.

"You know I burn water...right?" Christian asked raising his eyebrow.

"I can cook, asshole. I'm going to help you and stay with you the whole time. I'm not crazy enough to leave you in the kitchen alone," Stephen smirked rolling his eyes.

"Great. It's decided then. Let me ask her friend about her favorite food," Christian said pulling out his phone.

After a quick call to Caleb, Christian was ready. He Googled the recipes of each of the food items, and noted the necessary items he needed for each recipe. "Let's go to the grocery store," he suggested getting up from the couch.

"Sit back down, Chris. You need to ask your girlfriend for the date first," Stephen pointed out, "and then we will go grocery shopping."

"Then we'll have to wait till tomorrow morning. Ana was really exhausted from her trip. So she went to sleep early," Christian informed shrugging.

"That's okay. This will give you time to properly plan out this date," Stephen went back to his book.

"I'm going to the office then. I've some work to do. Goodnight," Christian bid him, getting up from the couch.

"Goodnight."

**.**

**.**

Christian and Stephen had just returned from their daily jog when Stephen reminded Christian that he needed to call Ana. Heading to his room, Christian dialed her number as he started pulling clothes out from his closet.

"Good morning, Christian," Ana greeted answering the phone. Christian could hear the smile in her tone.

"Morning, love. You're awake! I thought you'll sleep late today. You looked extremely tired last night," Christian replied with a soft smile.

"I'm a little tired, but I wanted to get back into my routine. So, I took Tyson for his morning run. I'm on my way home now."

"Be careful. Anyway, I wanted to ask you if you're free tonight," Christian asked pausing in his tracks as he waited for Ana's answer anxiously.

"I've a meeting around 4.30 pm, but I'll be done by 6 pm. Will that work?" Ana asked.

"Great. It's a date then," Christian beamed.

"Where are we going?" Ana asked.

"I thought you should meet Stephen. We're having dinner here at Escala. I'm cooking," Christian added the last part bashfully.

"Oh my! Should I keep food poisoning medicine ready?" Ana teased, only a little bit serious.

"I'm not a bad cook. I can cook really well, in fact," he said defensively.

"Mia said Elliot and she were in the hospital for 4 days after eating food you cooked," she giggled at Christian's irritated huff.

"They are nothing but a bunch of liars," Christian claimed causing Ana to laugh more. "I'm a really good cook. I'm cooking your favorite tonight. You can decide for yourself if I can cook or not after eating the four-course dinner I'm planning," he boasted arrogantly.

"Alright then. See you tonight. I'm looking forward to this dinner," Ana hung up smirking.

"FUCK!" Christian exclaimed in horror as soon as Ana hung up. Throwing away the clothes in his hands, he ran out of his room and headed towards Stephen's.

Stephen was just getting out of the shower when Christian started knocking on his door insistently. Frowning, Stephen answered the door to his panicking best friend. "What is it?" he asked.

"I screwed up," Christian blurted out. Panic was clear on his face.

Sighing, Stephen leaned against his doorway, "What did you do?" he inquired.

"I told Ana that I'm a really good cook... and I'm going to make a four-course meal," Christian whined, "What the fuck was I thinking?!"

Hearing Christian whining, Dodger, his ferret, ran up to Stephen's door and tilted his head, chittering as if to ask if his owner was alright or not. Stephen gave the ferret a side glance before turning to his best friend and giving him a deadpan look. "Don't worry. We will manage, but we should start early," he suggested.

"Get dressed. We'll head out after breakfast," Christian said getting out of the room. He grabbed Dodger on his way to his room.

**.**

They met at the dining room table after getting dressed for the day. Gail had made a large breakfast for them. "So, how did you end up telling her about that four-course meal you plan on cooking?" Stephen asked Christian just as Gail was bringing the jug filled with orange juice to the table.

As she registered what Stephen had said, her grip on the jug loosened and it shattered on the floor. Stephen and Christian looked at her, startled. "You're cooking?! Why?!" Gail questioned Christian despondently. She really didn't want him to burn down the kitchen.

"I'm trying to impress Ana. Try not to get THAT excited," Christian answered, amused at Gail's panicked look.

"I won't let him burn down the building," Stephen assured.

Blushing, Gail started cleaning up. "I wasn't thinking anything like that," she protested mildly.

"Puh-lease... you were so shocked and horrified at the news that you broke the jug," Christian teased making Gail blush harder with embarrassment.

Stephen laughed before getting up to help her. Once Gail went back to the kitchen, Stephen returned to his breakfast. "Even your staff knows about your awful cooking skills," he teased.

"Yeah. Gail always leaves instructions on how long I should heat the food in each of the containers," Christian snickered. Stephen snorted before going back to eating.

**.**

After they were done eating, Christian asked Gail to make a list of all the ingredients they would need to cook the four-course meal Christian was planning. "Here you go, Mr. Grey. You know I can cook the meal and you can just... say that you cooked it?" she suggested as she handed Christian list.

"That won't be necessary, Gail. Thanks," Christian grinned at the older woman before the boys headed out.

Entering the nearest Target, Stephen and Christian decided to split up in order to get done faster. When they were in college, these two would often go to do their grocery shopping for their frat house. Christian was half was through his shopping, when Stephen showed up suddenly and shoved what appeared to be a large mess of flowers at Christian.

"What the fuck is this?" Christian asked frowning, causing Stephen to grin in amusement.

"Give them to Ana. She'll like them," he replied raising his eyebrow.

"They're cheap and hideous," Christian pointed out snottily. Stephen rolled his eyes and shoved the flowers at Christian again, until Christian finally took them. "I'm not giving her these cheap-ass flowers. I'm throwing them away," Christian claimed.

"It's just flowers. Why do they need to be expensive? I think she'd love them if she's not a money hungry person... and they're pink," Stephen shrugged suppressing his laughter.

Christian looked horrified at the thought of giving his girlfriend cheap flowers. He struggled to do something with them. He wanted to throw them at his best friend's head, but he refrained for the sake of his own image. Christian glanced down at them with a scowl and shook his head. They were nothing he'd ever pick out, nor anything he'd ever give to Ana. He didn't want her to think that he was a cheapskate.

"Why? Why does she need flowers anyway? What is she going to do with them?" Christian muttered sulkily. He knew girls love flowers, but he never understood the logic behind it. He looked at Stephen to find him giving him a smile that said _'you're stupid for missing the point and I refuse to tell you what that point is'_. "Don't just stand there with that judgmental smile! I mean tell me what is she even going to do with flowers? Stick them on her kitchen counter and sit and watch them die?" Christian exclaimed.

"Christian, calm down. It's just flowers," Stephen stated slowly, and he looked like he was biting back some witty commentary that'd make Christian want to shove the flowers down his throat.

"Fine. You know what... I'll take them. In fact, I'll go buy more," Christian snapped at him, feeling angrier than ever as he stormed away from Stephen. He found the stupid flowers aisle and roughly grabbed two more of the bunches of pink flowers. "She better appreciate these," he muttered, pouting.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Christian was pacing back and forth in the living room waiting for Ana. Stephen had sent him out to shower and change for the date while he put finishing touches on the food. They had spent the whole day in the kitchen where Stephen had shown Christian how to cook. Gail was given the responsibility of helping Christian when it would be time to bring out the food. The ding sound of the elevator arriving increased Christian's heart rate. he idly wondered if he might pass out from nervousness.

Ana entered the penthouse with a bright smile on her face. "Ana..." Christian breathed out. He always found her pretty, but today she looked beautiful; especially in that short skirt and thigh high boots. The short amount of skin that was visible was tantalizing at best. She was wearing a grey full sleeve t-shirt, dark blue short skirt and black thigh high boots. "You're so beautiful," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Ana smiled up at him prettily before winding her arms around his neck. "And you look handsome in blue," she said with a flirty smile. Christian was in a light blue button-down shirt and dark grey jeans.

"Hi," he greeted placing a kiss on her lips.

Ana beamed at him. "Hi. So... did you really cook?" she asked curiously.

"I did. I have proof," Christian replied, showing her his fingers that had multiple band-aids.

"Awww," Ana placed a kiss on his hand. "I'm excited for tonight's dinner," Ana stated smiling at him kindly. A chittering noise made the couple look down. Dodger was looking up at them. When he noticed that he had got their attention, he hopped left and right excitedly. Smiling at the animal, Ana and Christian pulled away. Kneeling, Ana took him in her arms. "Hello, Dodger. How have you been, buddy?" she cooed. The ferret chattered back like he was replying to Ana's question. Christian smiled at their bonding.

"By the way... this is your first time coming here invited, isn't it?" Christian teased.

Ana giggled, nodding. "I know this penthouse better than you do," she claimed.

"Of course you do, you stalker," Christian grinned with a teasing smile.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**A/N: My life sucks at this moment. So please bear with me as I upload every other week. Pray for me, please.**


	14. Chapter 14

**DISCLAIMER: **** Fifty shades of Grey or its' characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.**

**UPLOADING UNEDITED!**

**.**

***Information:***

Ana and her friends = 24 years old

Christian = 28 years old

Mia = 22 years old

Elliot = 30 years old

Stephen = 28 years old **[**I'm casting Stephen Amell as Stephen of my story ;)**]**

**.**

**.**

**Chapter - 14:**

**.**

Christian escorted Ana to the dining room. The room was painted in dark beige color with a black feature wall and off-white curtains. At the center of the room held an Academia dining room table set on a plush grey rug. The dining set featured a Termocotto Oak finish and elegant gold accents.

Stephen was waiting for the couple there. He was dressed in a pair of dark grey jeans, black t-shirt, maroon sweater, and brown casual teak-wood leather shoes.

"Ana, this is Stephen, my most annoying and beloved friend," Christian introduced.

"He's lying. I'm not the annoying one. He is," Stephen stated rolling his eyes. "Stephen Whitley, nice to meet you. I've been hearing about you ever since my return," he said shaking Ana's hand.

Ana giggled at their friendly banter. "Anastasia Steele. pleased to finally meet you as well. Christian had really missed you. He would constantly talk about you," she said, giving Christian a warm smile.

"Come. Our boy has been working hard for you all day," Stephen said, gesturing towards the chair Christian help open for Ana.

"You really cooked for me?! I thought you would just ask Gail to do that. Oh Christian!" Ana teared up. Placing a kiss on his cheek, she sat down. Christian took the seat beside her, while Stephen sat on Christian's other side.

"So Ana, tell me about yourself. How did you two meet? Christian said something about an argument...?" Stephen asked, trailing off with a confused look on his face.

Ana and Christian exchanged an amused look, before Ana started telling Stephen about their first meeting. "... and that's how the whole harassing each other started," she ended with a fond smile.

"Did you seriously blame her for bumping into you?" Stephen asked his best friend in disbelieve, "Didn't you learn anything from growing up with a sister?"

Christian shrugged. "I was already having a bad day, and on top of that, she bumped into me. So, i unloaded my anger on her," he took Ana's hand and said with an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry,"

"It's okay," Ana smiled at him.

"I'm sorry to interrupt... but dude, are you going to feed us or not? I'm hungry," Stephen demanded. Laughing at his dramatics, Christian excused himself and headed to the kitchen. "So, what's your intention with my best friend?" Stephen asked as soon as Christian was out of ear shot.

"Intention?" Ana was puzzled.

"Yes. From what you just shared, he had been an ass to you from the beginning. Still you guys are dating. Why?"

"You're right. He's annoying, arrogant, and an asshole... but when he let's himself be free of his billionaire persona, he's a nice guy. A man who is a perfect fit for me. He understood my pranks and instead of getting offended or just enduring them, he dished out his own. I loved that about him," Ana smiled, "That's why we're dating,m" she added with shrug.

Stephen stared at her blankly. He hadn't expected that answer. He thought she was either dating Christian for his money or his good looks. But instead she seemed to be dating his best friend for his pranking skills? He was so confused. "Ah... that's good, I guess," he muttered.

Christian returned a few seconds later, with Gail following behind him. Ana watched amazed at Christian as he served the first course. It was a creamy chicken and vegetable soup. Ana always loved this soup. "How did you know about this soup? Wait! Was it the same traitor who let you in my apartment?" Ana asked with a smirk.

"Yeah. He shared all your favorite food items with me," Christian replied, grinning.

"So... its' a 'he', huh?" Ana raised her eyebrow playfully.

"Yikes," Christian sputtered at his mistake. Caleb was correct. Ana was too cunning. She would've made a great detective,

"I'll figure out who this traitor is sooner or later," Ana teased.

"Yeah, he said you would," Christian replied with a wry smile.

"You're making it worse. If you want to keep your spy's ID a secret, then stop talking about him," Stephen advised with a smirk. Ana snickered, nodding in agreement.

"Whatever," Christian rolled his eyes. He was actually focused on something else. ever since Ana entered the dining room, Christian had been waiting for her to notice those pink flowers he bought earlier today. He had Gail p[lace them at the center of the dining table hoping Ana would notice them first. But to his disappointment, Ana didn't even look at them yet. After serving, Christian took his seat, pouting slightly. He felt stupid for buying those things. He shouldn't have listened to Stephen.

Ana noticed Christian's sulking form and frowned. She started to ask when her eyes fell on the pink flowers at the center of the table. "Wow. These flowers are so pretty," she exclaimed. Her eyes brightened with happiness seeing those flowers.

Christian perked up instantly. "You like them?" he asked.

"Of course, I do. Did... you get them?" Ana asked noticing the change in Christian's form.

"Yeah... for you. They aren't anything expensive though. That's why I didn't give them to you," Christian informed blushing.

"Expensive?! Christian, why would anyone need flowers to be expensive?" Ana laughed, "I'd have liked anything you give me. Their cost doesn't matter," she said placing her hand on his.

"So Ana... how many boyfriends did you have?" Stephen questioned suddenly. Christian frowned at his friend. He didn't like Stephen's question or the tone he used to ask said question.

"I had two boyfriends. The first one was in high school, and the second one was in college," Ana answered honestly.

Before Christian could change the topic, Stephen asked, "Why did you break up with them... if you don't mind me asking?"

"The first break up was because we decided we were better as friends than anything more. My second boyfriend was Eric. We dated for 3 years. He was... a little rough around the edges. He needed someone who would make him the center of her universe. Someone for whom he would be the main and only priority. I was getting ready to start my business. I knew I wouldn't be able to give him the attention he deserved. So, we broke up," Ana finished with a slight frown.

"Are you still in contact with him?" Christian asked curious. His question was out before he could stop himself.

"Yeah. Last I heard he got married... but his wife didn't even know about it for four months," Ana giggled.

"What?! How's that possible?" Christian asked, shocked.

"According to him, the idea came to him suddenly. He didn't want to loose her and he thought if he married her then she'll have to be with him. But he didn't want her to know how much she meant to him. So, he didn't propose her, instead hid the papers in some files that needed his wife's sign," Ana explained.

"That's creepy... and kind of romantic," Stephen commented, impressed.

"What do you mean _**'romantic'**_? It's creepy," Christian scolded.

"But can you imagine that he loved her so much and was so scared to loose her, that he married her secretly? Though I do think not telling her about it was a little too much," Stephen huffed a laugh.

"I thought his wife would run away from him after learning about it. But Eric said that she understood his inability to say how much he loves her, she apologized to him for calling him a 'jerk' before they celebrated their wedding night," Ana informed, grinning. Eric and his new wife was a dear friend now. She was happy for them.

"Wow," Christian shook his head. He couldn't even think about marrying someone secretly. His mom and sister would kill him if he did something like that.

"Anyways Ana, what do you think of this soup? Did I pass the cooking challenge?" Christian asked eagerly.

"The soup is definitely good. So, it means you just know how to make a good soup. Anyone can do that. Let me eat the rest of the dinner. I'll let you know if you passed or not," Ana replied grinning cheekily.

"You're really hard to please," Christian muttered petulantly before straightening up, "Alright then. Time for the next course," he announced clapping his hands. He hurried out of the room excitedly.

"I think he forgot about wine. He didn't offer us any. I'll go get it," Stephen offered and started to get up.

"Oh no. He didn't forget. He knows I've to drive home. That's why he didn't offer," An informed with a smile, "But you can get it if you want some though," she added.

"I'll do that. Excuse me for a moment," Stephen said before heading out of the room.

Both men returned five minutes later; Stephen with drinks and Christian with food. Ana sat up straight in anticipation. After the success with soup, Ana was eager to know if Christian would success in the next course or not.

"I got a soda for you and wine for us. Christian said other hard drinks wouldn't work," Stephen shrugged placing Ana's soda beside her before taking his seat. "He also said something about... 'dieting?" he added with a confused look on his face.

"Thanks for the soda, and yeah, my friends and I are doing a month long diet challenge to see which one of us looses the most weight. We incorporated 3 cheat days for days like today," Ana explained.

"Who is winning so far?" Christian asked serving the appetizer. He had made cheesy meatball bites with a side of bread. Stephen and he had eaten them while making them, and he had to say they tasted damn good. they had to make a few batch as they had finished the first two batch before they even noticed. They were so easy to make.

"Bill," at Ana's answer, Christian got out of his thought, "he lost 5 kg in the first week," Ana huffed in annoyance.

"How much did you loose?" Stephen asked, curious even though he didn't know who Bill was.

"3 kg in 2 weeks," Ana muttered glumly.

"That's too much weight to loose in such a short amount of time," Christian scolded, "You're already petite. Why are you putting yourself through all these? And doesn't Bill already look like a skeleton? Why is he loosing more weight?" he asked worried for Ana and her friends.

"He loves it when his thighs look like leather covered bamboos in his tight leather pants," Ana replied rolling his eyes at her best friends bizarre behavior.

"Seriously?!" Christian shook his head.

"How skinny is this friend of yours?" Stephen asked, a little worried now.

"Skinny," both Christian and Ana replied.

"By the way, I was thinking... since Stephen is also here now, why don't you, Mia, Elliot, and Stephen join us for our night out this Saturday? It'd be tons of fun," Ana proposed.

"That seems like a good idea. What do you think?" Christian asked Stephen.

"Sounds good to me," Stephen shrugged.

For entree, Christian served slow cooker steak pie. Ana was really impressed with him. Christian gave Stephen a grateful look. It wouldn't have ever been crossed his mind to cook for her if Stephen wasn't there. Stephen just winked at Christian in answer. No matter how much time goes by, Stephen would always be his faithful wing-man.

For dessert, Christian served frozen strawberry trifle, and instantly Ana straightened up. With narrow eyes , she watched as Christian served her.

"Here you go. Your favorite dessert," Christian said with a cheerful smile.

"Uh... yeah. It looks really... yummy," Ana commented with a tight smile.

Both men noticed her reaction and frowned. "Is... everything okay?" Christian asked.

"What?! No! No. No problem at all. I'm really excited to eat it. This looks so yummy," Ana replied, giving him a bright smile. The smile was so bright that it didn't look normal.

"If you're sure..." Christian trailer of hesitantly as he took his seat.

Stephen and Christian watched as Ana ate her dessert. Every once in a while she would wince when she thought they weren't looking. "Is it me or does she look like she's in pain?" Stephen asked Christian, whispering.

"It's not you. Do you think something is wrong with the dessert?" Christian questioned.

"Let's find out," Stephen announced before they started eating. "Oh my god! Mmm... yes.. oh... hmmm" Stephen moaned.

"I agree, man," Christian breathed out in total bliss. "This... is amazing... good lord! I want... more... oh..." he groaned out loudly.

Ana stopped eating her dessert and stared at the men eating as they continued making orgasmic sounds. Unwillingly some interesting images flashed through her mind. They involved both men naked with their abs and cocks covers in whipped cream. Ana shook her head and whispered to herself, "No! Bad girl!" before going back to her dessert.

**.**

**.**

The three of them gathered in the living room after the dinner. They decided to watch the movie _'The Dictator'_. Christian and Ana cuddled on one side of the sectional, while Stephen sat on the other side. Dodger was sitting inside a plastic pool filled with shredded paper in front of the couch. Christian and Ana had hidden some sparkly toys in the pool. The ferret was having a blast searching for them.

Ana hid her face in Christian chest every time she giggled at the movie. Ana had taken off her thigh high boots and tucked her legs on the couch as she cuddled with him. One of Christian's arms were around her waist resting on lower on her hips. Christian felt warmth spread through his chest each time she did that. He didn't bother watching the movie as he was too busy watching her. He smiled softly at the way she smiled and leaned into him more and more, the way she brushed her hair away from her face, the way she wrinkled her nose in disbelief, or the way she snorted in amusement. Christian also noticed that once in a while she would scratch her neck, arm, or legs. He frowned when he saw that those areas were slowly turning red.

"Are you okay? There are red marks appearing all over your neck, arms, and thighs," he asked worriedly as he ran his hand over her thigh.

"Don't worry about it. My skin is just reacting to some products I used," Ana replied dismissively, "By the way, I figured out which one of my friends is the traitor," she added offhandedly.

"You did? Who do you think it is?" Christian asked, alert now. He wasn't sure if she really knew or just tricking him.

"It's Caleb, isn't it?" Ana said, smirking.

Christian burst into laughter. "Wow! How did you know?" he asked in wonder.

"I have my ways," Ana wiggled her eyebrows mischievously, "Enjoy the movie," Ana said kissing his lips.

Once the movie was over Stephen yawned loudly. It was so exaggerated that it was easy to tell that he was faking it. "I'm going to bed. It was nice to meet you, Ana. Goodnight. Drive safe. Goodnight, man," with a wave, Stephen left the couple alone.

"He's not really subtle, is he?" Ana snickered.

"No, he's not," Christian laughed lightly, running his fingers through her hair.

"So... tell me about our next date," Ana asked looking up at him, resting her hand on his chest.

"Let's see. Do you want to do something out in public or keep it private like tonight?" Christian asked cupping her face.

"We always do the restaurant thing. So, how about we keep this private? But.. maybe with just the two of us?" Ana suggested hesitantly. She didn't want him to think that she didn't enjoy this date with his friend.

"Hmm…I agree. We need a private date with just the two of us. In that case, how's your stamina?" he asked.

"Uhhhh…" Ana froze, staring at him with wide eyes. Neither of them actually spoke about physical relationship yet. Whatever they did so far were in-the-moment kind of things, and they only kissed a few times. _**'Where is he going with this? What kind of a date is he thinking of that I'll need stamina for? Physical… activities? Am I ready for that step? Is he?' **_these thoughts ran through Ana's head rapidly. "Pretty good, I guess? I've been work outing pretty hard recently, so I'm in decent shape. Why do you... ask?"

Christian smiled down at her, raising his eyebrow just a tiny bit as if he knew where her mind had gone, but wisely chose not to tease her about it. "Well, I own a cabin in the Bogachiel Rain forest. We could drive out there for a hike next week," he suggested.

_**'Oh! A cabin… don't those usually have beds?' **_Ana swallowed down most of her nervousness before asking, "So we would... stay at your cabin?"

"We can stay overnight if you want to, but since it's just a two hour drive I was thinking we'd just head out there on a day trip and use the cabin as a starting point and to park the car. We can pack a nice lunch and have a picnic at one of the small lakes." Christian was getting excited at the idea of going on this small trip.

"That sounds like a perfect getaway," Ana said with a soft smile before adding playfully, "or the perfect spot to murder someone."

Christian gave her a deadpan look. "I can assure you that I have no plans whatsoever to kill you,"

"Pretty sure that's what a killer would say," Ana pointed out.

"Please remind me, why are we talking about my nonexistent murderous potential?" Christian demanded to know sulkily.

She huffed, stabbing at his really hard chest with her index finger. "Because you are being too perfect. It's suspicious," Ana said pulling away.

"I'm being nice is making you think I'm suspicious? And when a stranger told you to get in his car, you didn't find him suspicious?" Christian asked raising his eyebrow.

"When did I do that?" Ana asked defensively.

"When you crashed into my dad's car?" he reminded.

"Oh... um... whatever," she spattered, jutting her chin out.

"And we both know I'm not perfect," he argued, "Don't you remember how rude I was with you at the beginning? But I'm trying to be nice for you," he said pulling her back top him.

"See," she exclaimed, throwing her hands up helplessly, "You can't just go and say stuff like that, and not expect my ovaries to explode. Normal guys don't do that," An whined.

"I make your ovaries explode?" he grinned, looking not even a little bit sorry.

"You do, and if your goal is to give me a cavity from all of your sweetness, you're definitely succeeding," she huffed, pouting.

"I'm not the one to blame for your cavity. I think the copious amounts of ice cream you consume are to blame for that one. Don't think for a second that I didn't notice the amount of ice-cream you have in your freezer," Christian teased, grinning widely.

She gasped loudly, swatting at his chest. "I reject the insinuation of that statement," she said pulling away from him as she folded her arms over her chest. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to diet when you have a freezer full of ice-cream," she sulked.

"No one asked you to diet. You're the one who's torturing you," Christian pointed out raising his eyebrow, "Though eating less ice-cream might make your teeth thank you," he added with a teasing smile.

"I don't eat that much ice-cream!" Ana protested, "Only a small amount. I just like storing them,"

"Oh, really?" Christian asked smirking, not believing her for a second, "How much is a small amount?" he asked.

"One pint is my max," Ana replied confidently. At the pointed, disbelieving look of Christian's face, she adds, "Fine, two. Sometimes three. I've a stressful job, okay?!" she grimaced at the confession. Christian grinned widely at the guilty look on her face. "Smart ass!" Ana grumbled, knowing that she lost the argument.

"You look cute when you're pouting," Christian said pulling her back in his arms before placing a loving kiss on her cheek.

They cuddled in silence for a while before, Ana pulled away with a sigh. "I've to go home. I have an early meeting with one of the authors," she said sadly.

"Yeah. I also have to go to Port land for a meeting tomorrow," Christian nodded sadly.

"Have a safe trip... and call me when you reach there. I'll worry," Ana leaned down and kissed him.

Ana leaves after a few minutes with those flowers and a smile on her face. Christian headed to his home office to do some work before going to bed. He was supposed to get started early for the trip the next day. A knock on the door caused him to look up. Stephen was leaning against the door way.

"Ana seemed nice," Stephen commented.

"Did she?" Christian asked raising his eyebrow as he rested his elbows on the desk.

"Yeah. It seems she's almost like you. So, I'd say she's a good fit for you," he shrugged.

"If you thought she's perfect for me, then what was with that attitude and those invasive questions?" Christian asked, irritated. He had been displeased with how Stephen acted at the beginning.

"You're not only my best friend, but I consider you my brother as well. So, if I grill the girl you're dating, it's well within my rights. I watched your heart get trampled on once. I'm NOT making that mistake again," Stephen stated sternly.

"Look appreciate your intention, but did you have to ask her about her exes?" Christian frowned.

"Did you know about her exes before today?" Stephen countered raising his eyebrow.

"No, but..."

Stephen cut him off. "And now you know. You're welcome," he said dryly.

"So, accept my apology right now. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable with my questions and I'm sorry if it brought up all kinds of feelings you don't want to deal with yet,"

"Apology rejected." Christian snapped at him, "I didn't tell her about my ex yet. I'm sure she's going to ask about it now. I want her to date me because she likes me not because she feels sorry for me," he scowled.

"First of all, you can't reject my apology, you asshole. Secondly, you should share about your ex with her. That way you both will have a fresh start with your relationship. Don't be an idiot," Stephen advised.

"Fine. just... don't ask Ana any more stupid questions. I don't need you putting ideas in her head," Christian sighed.

"I won't. Goodnight, Chris,"

"Goodnight,"

**.**

**.**

**.**

Caleb was watching 'Justice League' for the hundredth time. He had always been a huge fan of Batman, Superman, and Wonder woman. So it was a no brainier that he would watch this movie until he memorized all the lines. He had just shoved a handful of popcorn in his mouth when a series of knock on the door broke his attention from the movie. Pausing the movie, he got up and walked up to the door. He looked through the peephole and stepped away from the door instantly. Ana was still knocking.

"I'm not home," he announced a few moments later.

"Oh really?! Is that your ghost talking then?" Ana asked sarcastically.

"It's actually the app I downloaded recently," Caleb tried again before wincing at his awful attempt at lie.

"Open the door, Caleb. You're making it worse," Ana said through the door.

"I"m not a masochist. Why the hell would I open the door when I know I'm going to get beaten?" Caleb said leaning against the door.

"Caleb, you know you deserve it. You told Christian I loved Frozen strawberry trifle? Are you out of your mind? You knew I get rashes whenever I eat strawberries these days. I had to lie to him about these rashes," Ana scolded.

"You deserved it. You did the same thing when we were in college," Caleb accused with a huff.

"What in the hell are you talking about?" she asked, confused.

"You changed my organic condoms with Latex ones, knowing that I was allergic to Latex," Caleb spit out, remembering the humiliation he had to go through due to the rashes on his penis. His girlfriend at the time thought he had STD.

Ana started snickering. "That was a good prank. We all hated that girl, but it wasn't me who pulled that prank on you," she said between her snickers, "It was Bill,"

"Shit! Bill did it?!" Caleb asked in disbelieve, not noticing that he had flung his door open.

Seeing the opening, Ana rushed inside the studio apartment. "Yes, it was Bill," she said resting her hands on her hips.

"That means... I tortured you for... nothing?" Caleb asked guiltily.

"Yup," she replied, popping the 'p'.

"You're going to beat me now, aren't you?" Caleb asked, defeated.

"Yeah," Ana nodded before grabbing a pillow from the couch.

With a grimace, Caleb approached her. Ana started hitting him with the pillow until the feathers were floating in the air of the apartment. Caleb grabbed some allergy medicines for Ana before she headed home.

"By the way... how did you know it was me?" Caleb asked.

"Everyone knows my favorite dessert is chocolate cake. If it was any of our other friends, they would've told Christian about the cake. They would've never mentioned a strawberry dessert. On top of that, only you knew that I recently became allergic to strawberry," Ana replied rolling her eyes. Caleb and she had gone to meet one of the authors a few weeks back when she started showing allergic reacting to the fruit. "And most of your pranks involve food somehow," she added.

Caleb beamed, "Goodnight, Annie,"

"Goodnight, Cally,"

**.**

**.**

**.**

**A/N: I know two weeks are hard to wait, but I want to thank you for staying with me. **

**Hope this chapter was satisfying. What did you think about the dinner?**


	15. Chapter 15

**DISCLAIMER: **** Fifty shades of Grey or its' characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.**

**Uploading Unedited!**

**.**

***Information:***

Ana and her friends = 24 years old

Christian = 28 years old

Mia = 22 years old

Elliot = 30 years old

Stephen = 28 years old [I'm casting Stephen Amell as Stephen of my story ;)**]**

**.**

***Lemon Alert!**

**.**

**Chapter - 15:**

**.**

"Look at those thigh gaps," he said smugly, pointing towards his crouch. He was wearing a black tight leather steampunk lace-up pants, with dark beige full sleeve t-shit, sleeveless black leather vest, black steampunk boots, black finger-less gloves, and a few heavy necklaces. His hair was in black and white dreadlocks.

Tom rolled his eyes as Liam stared at Bill in confusion. "Why do you even HAVE a thigh gap? What did you do with your dick?" Liam asked, frowning. Tom gave Liam a look that said he was an idiot.

"I taped it up my butt crack," Bill replied proudly.

Liam winced in horror. "Is he serious?" he asked Tom, Bill's older twin.

"Liam, stop asking shit," Tom scolded before turning towards his twin. "Bill, stop showing off your 'thigh gap'," he said air quoting.

Bill turned his nose at his brother before heading towards Nicolas's apartment. "Hey, Nico!Are you ready yet?" he asked entering the apartment.

"Are you?" Nicolas asked rubbing his wet hair with a towel. He had just gotten out of the shower. His body was still wet. He only had a towel wrapped around his waist.

"I'm already done. I'm so ready for some alcohol," Bill replied as he started going through Nicolas's clothes.

"Only alcohol can make you get dressed faster than usual," Nicolas snickered, "What are you doing with my clothes?" he asked raising his eyebrow finally noticing the other man.

"We're meeting Christian's friend and siblings for the first time. We need to make a good impression on behalf of Ana," Bill stated before pulling out a pair of blue slim-fit jeans, a black & white t-shirt, white casual shoes, a pair of sunglasses, and a black suit jacket. Nodding in agreement, Nicolas started getting dressed as Bill headed out to Check on their other friends.

Caleb was already dressed when Bill entered his apartment. Caleb was dressed in a pair of slim-fit dress pants, white shirt, beige suit jacket with matching beige dress shoes. He was also donning his usual prescribed glasses. "Looking dashing, brother. Planning on getting laid?" Bill asked leaning against the room divider.

"Hell yeah, I do. It's been ages since I last got laid," Caleb shrugged before asking curiously, "Wait! How did you get in here?"

"Because I'm smart, I've made copies for all of the apartments in this building. I can now get in and out of any of them," Bill boosted.

"You're so... Bill," Caleb said, shaking his head.

Ignoring the insult, Bill suggested, "Let's join the girls in Ana's apartment,"

"You go. I'd rather join others at yours. Kellan will also be joining us tonight," Caleb informed.

"Kelly 2 is coming as well? Awesome!" Bill fist pumped. Smiling at Bill's excitement, Caleb finished fixing his hair. They headed out of soon after. Caleb went to the Twins's apartment while Bill went to Ana's.

The girls were almost ready, which basically meant they only wore clothes and put on their makeup, but weren't done accessorizing. Jose was also with them, doing the same thing. Jose was wearing a pair of skin tight black jeans, a black velvet blazer with embroideries and lace on it, a brown scarf, brown belt, black dress shoes, a black hat and lots of long silver necklaces.

"I look better," Bill announced haughtily as soon as his eyes fell on Jose.

Before Jose could reply, Ana chimed in from up the loft, "Boys, no fighting! We only have another hour to get ready. Don't waste time fighting," Grimacing, both boys went their separate ways.

"What are you wearing tonight?" asked Bill climbing up the stairs. Tyson, Ana's dog, was seated in the middle of Ana's bed while all of their female friends were doing their makeup. "Oh my! I like it. Planning on giving Christian a heart attack?" Bill asked with a teasing smile as he took in Ana's outfit.

Ana was wearing a black tweed high-waisted short skirt with a velvet bustier set and a pair of black high heels with feathers. She wore her hair in a half ponytail with a pair of diamond studs and a diamond choker. "It's not a heart attack I'm after," Ana replied sassily.

"That's my girl. That hunky man meat needs to be ridden hard," Alyssa grinned, wiggling her eyebrows while grinning cheekily. Ana shook her head, amused before going back to apply her makeup. Their female friends either wore tight short skirt, shorts, or tight pleather pants with various revealing tops.

Once everyone was dressed for the night out, they gathered at the parking of the building. Ana had arranged a Limo for them. "Where are we going tonight? Ana where is Christian meeting us?" Tom asked.

"We're going to Christian Mile high Club. He'll meet us there with his gang," Ana informed just as the Limo arrived.

"Guys, wait a minute!," Caleb interrupted before they could get in the limo. A variation of 'What is it?' echoed out from everyone. "It had been a while since we all went for a night out. That's why I brought something for everyone," Caleb said.

"I already gave everyone the most important thing of a night out... Condoms," Kate pointed out with a smirk.

"I know, Katey. You gave me some as well," Caleb replied rolling his eyes before he handed out some gift wrapped the gifts ass the girls cooed. They had different types of chocolates for each of them.

"I love chocolate!" Bill exclaimed excitedly before shoving one piece in his mouth.

"Don't you guys want to know what each of you got?" Caleb asked eyeing Bill, who had shoved another few pieces of chocolate in his mouth.

"Sure, tell us," Chloe urged. She was happy to have some time adult time. Her parents had taken her son for the weekend.

"Some of you got dark chocolate, some of you got white chocolate and some of you got milk chocolate. Only Bill got some... chocolate covered cockroaches," Caleb said the last part with a devilish smirk on his face.

Everyone gasped in shock and Bill froze mid swallow. It was his 5th piece of chocolate. "W-What?!" he choked out.

"This is revenge for that time in college when you changed my organic condoms with latex ones," Caleb replied with a determined nod.

A moment of silence later, everyone burst into wild laughter. They tried to stop, but one look at Bill's horrified face started them all over again. It took them close to half an hour to stop laughing. They climbed in the limo and headed out. Of courser, Bill brushed his teeth first. On the way, they stopped at the fire station and Kellan joined them.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Christian and Stephen arrived at the club half an hour early. Christian was wearing a pair of slim-fit black dress pants with a black sweater, black suit jacket, and back leather dress shoes. Stephen was wearing a pair of dark jeans, light beige v-neck t-shirt, black jacket, and a pair of brown casual shoes. Elliot and Mia had joined them in the VIP area on the second floor a few minutes ago. Elliot was wearing dark blue dress pants with white shirt and brown shoes. Mia was wearing 'Hayley' choker bodysuit with blush pink short skirt and matching blush pink thigh high boots.

Christian, Stephen, and Elliot were sipping scotch while Mia was trying new drinks available at the bar downstairs. Christian was leaning back on the couch, eyes trained at the entrance. Both Caleb and Ana had texted him when they headed for the club. Christian looked around the club once more before his eyes went back to the entrance and his throat dried. Ana entered the club with her group of friends behind her. The outfit she wore made her look like a sexy vixen. Christian didn't even realize when he got on his feet and headed downstairs.

They met half way, both were beaming at each other, lost in their eyes. "You're the most beautiful women in my world," Christian said wrapping his arms around Ana.

Ana rested her hands on his chest and raised up to place her lips against his. "and you're the perfect man for me," Soon, they were so lost in each other they forgot that they were in a public place with their friends surrounding them.

"Cut it out, guys. Introduce to your friends before you start sucking each other's faces," Liam teased poking Ana and Christian's sides.

Pulling back, Ana glared at Liam while Christian chuckled. "They are upstairs. Let's go," he said before leading them to the VIP area on the second floor.

As soon as they entered the VIP area, both Stephen and Elliot stood up and greeted Ana with a kiss on her cheek. "Hey Ana, how have you been? Is my brother treating well?" Elliot asked. Ana giggled nodding.

Christian chuckled before gesturing towards Elliot and Stephen and said, "Guys, this is my older brother, Elliot and my best friend, Stephen,"

"And these are my best friends. From the right, that's Kate, Alyssa, Caleb, Liam, Nicolas, Jose, Tom, Bill, Kellan, and Chloe," Ana introduced. Everyone shook hands before taking a seat. "Hey, where's Mia?" Ana asked looking around.

"She's at the bar, trying new drinks," Christian replied pulling Ana on his lap. She squealed, startled by the sudden movement. Christian smiled down at the attractive woman on his lap and kiss her on the lip, making Ana smile.

"Woohoo! That sounds like a brilliant idea," Bill grinned.

"I agree. Let's go," Jose said grabbing Bill's hand and heading for the stairs.

"I think Bill is trying to forget the taste of cockroaches," Alyssa said, snickering.

"Cockroach?" Christian questioned.

"Bill had pulled a prank on Caleb years ago. Tonight, Caleb took revenge by feeding him some chocolate covered cockroaches," Nicolas explained rolling his eyes.

"I can't help but feel like I've seen you naked," Elliot chimed in all of a sudden, staring at Kate with a puzzled look on his face.

Rolling her eyes, Kate replied dryly flipping her hair over her shoulder, "That's because you have. We had an one night stand a few months ago,"

"We did?!" Elliot asked, surprised that he didn't recognize her.

"You did?" Ana asked, equally shocked.

"Yeah. It was during our girls' night out," Kate added, "Remember that day when you got an offer for a gangbang?" she smirked.

"Oh, that night!" Ana said with a smirk on her own before giving Christian a look causing him to huff a laugh. They both remembered that night quite vividly.

The waiter of the VIP area arrived with a trolley that held different kinds of alcoholic drinks. Mia, Jose, and Bill were right behind the waiter. "Mia, why is there tons of rainbow color drinks?" Christian asked raising his eyebrow at his sister.

"You boys always drink your boring scotch. So, we decided," Mia said gesturing to Bill, Jose, and herself, "that we all should try new drinks, instead of out usual ones. It would be fun,"

"That sounds like a nice idea. I'm in," Ana said with a shrug.

"As long as it has alcohol, I don't care," Liam, Kellan, and Caleb said simultaneously before laughing.

"Hey, I just noticed... you two look the same... or am I drunk already?" Elliot asked, finally noticing Caleb and Kellan.

"We're identical twins. I'm Kellan and I'm older by 2 minutes. I've green eyes and dark blonde hair. That's Caleb and he's younger. He has blue eyes and light blonde hair," Kellan replied.

"They aren't the only twins in our group though," Chloe said, laughing, "Tom and Bill are identical twins as well,"

"Really?! You don't look alike. I thought identical twins were supposed to look the same?" Stephen said, confused.

"We are identical twins, only twelve minutes apart. We loved the fact that we were twins, but we didn't like that we looked alike. So, from a very young age, we took on different styles from each other to look different from one another," Tom explained.

"Impressive. So... do you guys have EVERYTHING identical?" Elliot questioned gesturing towards his crouch. He was super curious to know the answer.

Stephen rolled his eyes. Mia looked intrigued. Ana's friends had started laughing and Christian face-palmed in disbelieve. Both pair of twins just gave Elliot amused smirks.

**.**

After a few drinks and spin on the dance floor later, everyone gathered back at the VIP area on the 2nd floor. "I have a brilliant idea! Let's play '_Never have I ever_'," Mia suggested, bouncing excitedly in her seat.

"That sounds like fun way to get to know each other," Ana commented from beside Christian. They had been cuddling in one of the couches.

"I don't mind," Christian shrugged pulling away from Ana's neck. He had been rubbing his nose against Ana's neck and placing soft kiss there.

Others also agreed as this game included alcohol. "I'll go first then," Mia said, "Never have I ever danced around naked," she giggled. With a grimace, Elliot, Kellan, Bill, Tom, Nicolas, Alyssa, and Ana took a sip of the vodka that was laid in front of them.

Christian stared at Ana, incredulously. "Really?" he asked, his voice had turned husky and his eyes darkened.

Ana snorted at his reaction. "My turn," she said, "Never have I ever pretended that I was running from Zombies," The group started laughing when Caleb, Stephen and Elliot took sips from their drinks.

"My turn," said Alyssa, "Never have I ever walked in on my parents while they were doing the dirty," With a disgusted groan, Mia, Christian, Ana, Kellan, and Chloe took sip from their drinks while other laughed.

"My turn," Christian said, "Never have I ever farted in an elevator and pretended it was not me," he snickered as Elliot, Bill, and Liam took sips from their drinks.

"My turn," Stephen said with a smirk, "Never have I ever thrown up on a roller coaster," With a wince, Christian, Jose, and Caleb took sips from their drinks.

"My turn," Bill said, "Never have I ever been caught looking at something naughty," Other than Bill, every single one of them took a sip from their drinks.

"My turn," said Chloe, "Never have I ever flirted with a teacher," Caleb, Tom, Nicolas, and Stephen took sips from their drinks causing others to laugh.

"My turn," Caleb said, "Never have I ever slept with someone twice my age," he had a smirk on his face. Bill, Alyssa, and Nicolas took sips from their drinks.

"My turn," Liam said rubbing his hands excitedly, "Never have I ever gone commando," Mia, Ana, Alyssa, Chloe, Christian, Stephen, and Kellan took sip from their drinks. The game continues until everyone was drunk out of their minds.

"May I have this next dance?" Christian asked Ana, tilting his head and offering her his hand.

"Yeah," Ana smiled, taking his hand.

The song _'__Miss Independent by Ne-yo'_ comes as

Christian and Ana reached the dance floor. He pulled her close until their hips were flushed together as he slipped his thigh between hers. The lyrics made her smile while a light blush spread to her cheeks at Christian's heated gaze.

_**'Cause she walk like a boss  
Talk like a boss  
Manicure nails just sent the pedicure off  
She's fly effortlessly**_

_**And she move like a boss  
Do what a boss  
Do, she got me thinking about getting involved  
That's the kinda girl I need**_

_**She got her own thing  
That's why I love her  
Miss independent  
Won't you come and spend a little time  
She got her own thing  
That's why I love her  
Miss independent  
Oh, the way she shine  
Miss independent'**_

Ana slipped her hand up his chest to his shoulder, locking back to those dark grey eyes. "Did you request this song?" she asked, smiled up at him.

"I did. This song explained my feeling for you properly," Christian replied nodding, smiling down at her affectionately, "and I thought it was quite fitting," he chuckled before turning her so that her back was pulled to his chest. Ana closed her eyes at the feeling of his hands on her hip, skimming down to her thighs and back up. As the song continued, Ana felt herself surrounded by him as his arm wrapped around her shoulders and his face was almost pressed into her neck.

Opening her eyes, Ana turned around to face him. "Kiss me," she said.

With a smirk, Christian's hands slipped down her back to her waist and he pulled her close until they were grinding against each other. He lowered his head as Ana raised to her tiptoes and their lips mashed together.

Stephen and Mia were dancing on the opposite side of the dance floor from Christian and Ana. Mia had always had crush on Stephen, but other than giving her a few flirty smile, Stephen never gave her any indication on how he felt about her. So, now that he was back for good, Mia was on a mission to get him to date her. When Christian and others left to dance, she grabbed the opportunity and asked Stephen... well, forced him to the dance floor. The song _'Replay by Iyaz'_ was playing in the background and Stephen and Mia lost themselves in each others eyes.

_**'Shawty's like a melody in my head**_

_**That I can't keep out  
Got me singin' like**_

_**Na na na na everyday  
It's like my iPod's stuck on replay  
Replay-ay-ay-ay**_

_**Shawty's like a melody in my head  
That I can't keep out  
Got me singin' like  
Na na na na everyday  
It's like my iPod's stuck on replay**_

_**Replay'**_

"Will you go out on a date... with me?" Mia asked, shouting over the music.

"Huh? But... I'm your brother's friend," Stephen stammered out.

"Yes, you are my brother's friend... not his boyfriend that you can't date me," Mia stated dryly.

"Right, of course. That's not... what i meant. I just... you're really younger than me," Stephen blushed.

"I'm only six years younger than you... not twenty," Mia rolled her eyes.

"I didn't mean.. I mean... uh..." Stephen scratched his head, wondering what to say. He always thought Mia was cute, but he respected Christian and his parents a lot to think of her in a romantic sense. Suddenly, he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. With a sigh of relief, he excused himself from Mia and went to the men's washroom to take the call.

"Mr. Grey?" he was puzzled at Christian's dad's strange timing.

"Stephen, my boy. I have some news," Carrick said in a grave tone.

"What is it?" Stephen asked urgently. Carrick's tone was making him anxious.

"Jacob Williams is getting released in a few weeks. His sentence is over," Carrick informed.

Stephen froze. The man who killed his parents, the man that ruined his life was getting out of jail. Jacob had gotten 25 years of life in prison without parole for all of those murders. Stephen was not satisfied with this sentence, and he knew neither were the families of other victims. But he knew nothing could be done. According to the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that no person shall _"be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb."_ It does means that - the government can't prosecute someone more than once for the same crime. A storm started raging inside him. One part of him wanted to beat the shit out of Jacob, while another part just wanted to move one and forget that horrible memory.

"Stephen?!" Carrick called out through the phone.

"I'm here," Stephen said with a heavy sigh.

"I understand how it must be for you. We can try to reopen the case again if you want," Carrick suggested even though he knew he won't be successful. But he also knew the pain of loosing loved one. He was thankful that his family didn't have to go through the trauma of a murder. Though Christian's parents' accident was not easy to deal with, Carrick was thankful that his brother and sister in-law weren't murdered.

"Don't bother, Mr. Grey. I know that one person cannot be punished for the same offence," Stephen said pulling Carrick from his thoughts. "No need to reopen that old wound again, but... I would like to be there when he gets out. I want my face to be the first one he sees. I want him to remember how he ruined my life," he said bitterly as tear pulled in his eyes.

"Give me some time. I'll get you the time... but I have a condition," Carrick said seriously.

"Condition?" Stephen frowned.

"You won't go there alone. You'll take Christian and I with you. We don't want you to face him alone and risk you gong to jail,"

Stephen chuckled. "That'd be a good idea," he agreed. With a 'goodnight', Stephen hung up. Sighing heavily, he washed his face and hands before going out of the washroom.

Mia was waiting for him outside. At Stephen's sad expression, she approached him with a frown. "Stephen? What's wrong?" she asked.

"I... um... I... " he shook his head in despair. With a sad smile at his struggle, Mia pulled him for a tight hug.

"I feel like I'm stuck in my past and can't move on," he whispered.

"You're really strong, and I'm not talking about physically. I know you can move on, and you will," Mia stated, pulling back.

"When did you grow up so much?" Stephen asked, looking at her with anew realization.

"I told you I was a grown up adult now. You just didn't believe me," Mia said with a teasing smile.

Stephen smiled down at her softly. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than the woman in front of him. Without any conscious thought, he leaned down and kissed her. Mia was startled at first, but soon, she had her arms locked around his neck.

**.**

**.**

**.**

The next Friday, Christian was ready to pick up Ana for their camping trip. They were going to the Bogachiel Rain forest where Christian had rented a cabin for them. He was really excited and nervous about this trip. Both Christian and Ana knew they wanted to take their relationship to the next level in this trip. Christian had checked the weather report repeatedly, not wanting any surprises. He had made sure the cabin had proper supplies and a fully stocked pantry for their 3 days stay.

He also got Gail to make some finger foods for the small picnic Christian had planned. There was a lake near the cabin where Christian wanted to take Ana for a picnic. He had borrowed Elliot's jeep for this weekend getaway. After loading it with all the necessary things and assuring Taylor that he would be fine alone, he headed towards Steele Tower.

Ana had been really hyped up over this trip. She woke up at 4 am and couldn't go back to sleep. She took Tyson for a small run before taking a shower and changing her clothes. She had packed a backpack the previous night. So, by the time 7 am came around, she was ready to go. She took her backpack and Tyson's leash before heading to the ground floor where the library was. Ana thought it would be a nice outing to take her dog as well. Christian had happily agreed.

"Ready to go," asked Liam grinning widely.

"Yup. I'm... also a little nervous," Ana stated with wry smile.

Liam smiled softly at the girl in front of him. "You took condoms and the plan -B, right?"

Ana blushed instantly. "W-why would I... need that?" she stuttered.

"You're as transparent as glass, Ana," Liam chuckled wrapping his arm around her shoulder, "Everything will be fine. Christian is a good guy. We all like him and most important thing is.. he really cares about you. So, if you guys are ready to have sex, then that's good too," he shrugged.

"Thanks, Liam," Ana smiled up at him.

"Oh my! My eyes must be betraying me! There's no way Ana is here before 8.30 am," Carla gasped in mock surprise. Ana's friends had also arrived and had smiles on their faces.

"Mo-om!" Ana whined.

"Love you, baby girl. Have fun... riding that handsome man like I enjoy your dad," Carla advised with a determined nod.

"Ew, moooom!" Ana winced in disgust.

"Remember... no glove, no love. I'm too young to be a grandma," Carla continued.

"We will remember that," a familiar voice said for the entrance causing them all to turn around and find Christian standing at the entrance with a smirk on his face. "But Carla, you would make the most beautiful grandma... just don't tell my mom," he added with a boyish grin.

Carla laughed. "Come here, you handsome fellow. I would love any grandchild of mine... just don't want them for another few years," she said with a pout.

Christian greeted her with a hug. "How have you been?"

"I'm good. Have fun you both, and be careful," Carla said affectionately.

"I'll take care of her," Christian promised before turning to look at the woman of his desires. She was wearing a pair of dark acid wash jeans, orange color Tryna hike crop top, thick light blue jeans jacket, and a pair of brown hiking boots with thick socks underneath. She had one of her smaller back packs on her should and a bigger one hanging by the back of one of the chairs. "Hey beautiful," Christian greeted her with a soft smile on his face. He had never seen someone so beautiful.

"Hey," Ana greeted shyly.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah,"

"Here. Let me take him," Christian said taking Tyson's leash and Ana's bigger backpack.

"Thanks. Bye, guys," with a wave, Ana and Christian headed out.

It took them two and half hours to reach the cabin. Ana got busy getting Tyson off of the jeep while Christian started getting their backpacks to the porch of the cabin. Ana watched him work with a small smile on her face. He was a really good looking man and she felt... deeply for him. She didn't know if she loved him yet, but she knew she was felt something similar for him. Christian was wearing dark grey cargo pants, with light grey polo t-shirt, thick orange and blue jacket, high rise hiking boots, and a pair of Ray-bans.

Christian opened the door of the cabin and turned to find Ana still standing by the jeep with a thoughtful look on her face. "Hey, you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. It seems Tyson doesn't find you offensive anymore," Ana said with a teasing smile.

Christian chuckled. "So it seems," he said as Ana joined him at the wooden porch. Opening the door, they entered the cabin. The cabin had one bedroom, one full bathroom, and a large front room which had a small living room at the front part, a small dining table in one corner, and a small L-shaped kitchen at another corner. The whole exterior and interior of the cabin was made with wood.

"Wow! It's really... woody," Ana commented with an amused smirk.

"Woody?" Christian asked snickering, "Not a fan of wood?"

"It's not that. I just think that we should not cut trees to build houses when there are so many other available materials to do so. In the past, it was understandable, but in this modern times, it just seems like a waste of good trees," Ana shrugged.

Christian nodded. "You're right. I never thought about it before," he said before taking their backpacks to the bedroom. "Are you hungry?" he asked coming out to the living room.

"I could eat," Ana shrugged.

"What do you think about a picnic ?"

"It sounds perfect," Ana smiled.

Taking Tyson's leash and the wicker picnic basket Christian brought with him, the couple headed out. They hiked close to fifteen minutes through the trails until they reached the lake. The sky was slightly cloudy but since the sun was still visible, the lake water was glittering like liquid silver. There was a build in picnic table overlooking the lake. Ana smiled at the view and let Tyson off of his leash. Tyson ran up to the lake side and started sniffing everything.

"How did you know about this place?" Ana inquired curiously.

"When we were younger, our parents used to bring us here for family weekends," Christian answered with a smile placing the basket on the wooden table.

They sat and started chatting. They didn't notice as hours passed... they also didn't notice the weather changing. Tyson's insistent barking made them look around and that's when they noticed the dark clouds. Tyson ran up to them and barked before running back and forth to the trail and back. As if he was telling them to head to the cabin for cover. Before Ana and Christian could react, it started raining cats and dogs. It was a struggle to run through forest floor in normal weather, let alone during extreme rain. Tyson stayed in front of them the whole time showing them the way to the cabin. By the time they reached the porch of the cabin, both were totally soaked.

"I swear this is not what the forecast said," Christian exclaimed helplessly, "I'm never trusting that weather guy again. He said it'd be sunny today," he grumbled.

"Really, Christian?!" she asked, raising a challenging eyebrow, even though she knows full well that he's telling the truth. She'd also checked and re-checked the forecasts all week to determine how many layers of clothes to bring, and every last one of them had promised a beautiful sunny day. So, in reality, there was no reason for Christian to take on any of the blame. "We live in Seattle. Rain is our normal," she said with giggling as she shook her head to shake off the water from her hair, "... or was it your master plan to lure me out here to take advantage of the poor little me," she said in a teasing tone.

Picking up on her teasing tone, he retorted with a smirk on his own, "Damn it! Now you've seen through my master plan of luring you out here under false pretense and with a false sense of security to have my wicked way with you,"

She grinned mischievously and asked, "Oh? Is that offer still on the table?"

He wrapped his arms around Ana's waist and tightened his hold, "Should I really have my wicked way with you?" he asked.

"You really, really should," Ana said before leaning up to kiss him.

"I should, should I?" he asked breathlessly between small pecks, punctuating his questions by stroking his fingers along the top of her jeans covered butt in a torturously slow pattern.

"Uh-huh. Maybe we should start by letting me out of this wet clothes," she suggested. Wrinkling his nose at the uncomfortable wet clothes om his body, Christian nodded in agreement.

They headed inside and changed into dry clothes. Ana dried Tyson's wet fur as Christian started the fire. They gathered blankets and pillows and made a temporary bed in front of the fireplace. Tyson sat by the fireplace a feet from them on large pillow and dozed off. Ana shivered as the temperature dropped. She found herself leaning against Christian more and more. "I think body heat will work better with the cold than the fire," she suggested looking at his through her eyelashes.

"Are you sure?" Christian asked hesitantly, looking like he understood that she was not just talking about body heat, but about something more, "I would never want you to feel pressured or anything just because we're stuck in this... oddly romantic situation. Not that I hadn't intended for this trip to be romantic, but I thought we would proceed... slowly," he didn't want her to misunderstood.

Ana framed his face with her hands, thumbs running over his cheeks. "I'm sure about this, Christian," she assured him, pressing a soft kiss to his lips she had gotten quite well acquainted with over the past weeks. "I don't feel pressured to take this step... and you're definitely not pushing me. I _**want**_to be with you. In every way,"

He swallowed hard, regarding her closely for a few intense moments, gauging the sincerity of her response before he finally nodded, his eyes instantly a shade darker than before. He pulled off his t-shirt and threw it somewhere behind the couch. He hesitated only for a moment before pulling off Ana's t-shirt as well.

Ana smiled at his softly when her eyes fell on the dog that was silently curled up by the fire a few feet away. "Um... Christian?" she said sheepishly. At his curious frown, she continued, "Can you take Tyson to the the bedroom and close the door? He can rest on the bed while we..." she trailed off, blushing lightly.

"You want me to lock Tyson in another room?" he questioned and raising an amused eyebrow at her.

"Yeah," she replied, looking anywhere but him.

"Why? It's not like he can tell anyone what he saw," he said with a smirk.

"Well, no," Ana argued, "but... it makes me feel... weird to have him so close to us when we..." she trailed off again. Her face was bright red by then.

Finally taking sympathy on the her, Christian got up and went to the dog. "Come on, buddy, you can sleep in the bedroom tonight. I'll even start the fire there," he said taking a hold on Tyson's collar. His dog got up from his spot without any resistance and followed Christian to the bedroom with a wagging tail, excited to see what awaits him in the other room.

When the coast was clear, Ana quickly took off her pj shorts. Naked, she entered the blanket again after doing something important, but didn't pull it over to her shoulder. She left in at her waist, her bare upper body showing off.

His steps faltered and his jaw dropped when he came back to the main room, eyes instantly glued to her exposed body. "Oh… you… uhh…" he stuttered, stepping closer. "You're beautiful," he whispered. He approached her tentatively before dropping to his knees ion front of her form.

In a swift move that surprised even herself, she sat up in an elegantly fluid motion and framed his face with shaking hands, pulling him into a passionate kiss.

He'd frozen against her onslaught for about two seconds before a switch was flipped and he sprung into action, giving as good as he got. Within seconds, she was pressed back down onto the covered floor. Christian somehow managed to slip underneath the blankets and between her legs, pressing right where she wanted him the most.

"Are you sure?" he asked breathlessly against the skin of her neck, rubbing his hard flesh against her wet core as the last word left his lips.

"Please, Christian... don't make me wait," she moaned when his fingers pinched one of her nipples just as his lips find an insanely sensitive spot on her neck. "So fucking sure." she moaned out.

He suddenly stopped everything he had been doing and pulled back a little to look at her. The growl that rolled from her lips had him chuckle lightly, but his eyes remained serious.

"I'm sure, Christian," she tries again, laying a flat hand right over his chest. A thought came to her then. Maybe it's not really her he was worried about. "How about you? Are _you _sure?" she asked.

Raising his eyebrow, he ground his hips against hers, the bulge in his pajama bottoms rubbing right against her center through the thin layer to cloth. "I've never been more sure about anything else in my life, Ana. I can't even begin to describe how much I want you," he said.

"Okay, what are you waiting for then? Shall we start?" she questioned, letting one of her hands roam down his body to squeeze his butt.

"God, yes," he groaned, slamming his eyes shut.

"Great!" Ana exclaimed, before she pulled him on top of her.

Spreading her knees, he settled between them. Ana welcomed him in her body as Christian slid inside her slowly. His attached his mouth on her breast; sucking and nibbling. He grunted when he was all the way inside her.

"Oh... Christian..." she breathed out, tightening her legs around his waist.

He waited only for a few moments before he started a steady pace with his hips. Ana copied his movements. They were lost in the lovely sensation that neither noticed that they didn't use condom. They didn't know how long had gone by. Christian could feel her inside flattering around his flesh.

"Are you close, Ana?" he asked whimpering.

"mm-mm... yes," she moaned.

Shoving his hand between them, Christian started rubbing on her clit, hard. As Ana fell over the edge, Christian felt his cock swell and then thick ropes of sticky, white cum filled Ana's womb. Ana held onto him tightly, even after they were finished. she could feel him relaxing on top of her.

"I'm heavy. Let me move off of you," Christian said through liberated breath,

"Stay like this for a few minutes. I like the weight," she said smiling.

"If you're sure... Ana?" he said hesitantly.

"hmm?"

"We forgot to use condoms?" Christian said sheepishly, "I'm so sorry,"

Ana giggled. "I didn't forget. I had already put on a female condom while you were gone, and I'm on birth control pills,"

"Thank god at least one of us was smart," Christian sighed in relief before settling beside her. They stayed silent as they cuddled.

Christian kept softly nuzzling her neck, pressing lazy kisses here and there, his hands holding her in place against him. Ana honestly couldn't remember the last time she was this content. There was no thoughts about her business or his company. It was just them right here in this moment. The rest of the world could wait for a while for all they cared. When she turned her head towards him, he was looking at her with alert, grey eyes, a soft, content smile tugging at his lips.

"Mmm," she hummed, "What are you thinking about?" she asked.

Christian shook his head, "I don't wanna scare you off,"

She smiled tenderly at him, brushing her thumb across his scrunched up eyebrow. "Are you admitting that you're still trying to figure out the best way to dump my body while we're here?" she teased, smirking.

He chuckled in response. "When are you gonna let that crazy theory go? You're way too obsessed with this whole me being a murderer thing,"

Ana snickered, hiding her face in his chest. "If not planning my murder, what were you thinking about so deeply?" she asked, pulling back.

"Like I said, I don't want to scare you off," he said.

"No one scares me away," Ana boosted.

"Really?" he asked raising his eyebrow, "You wanna bet?"

"Sure,"

"I love you," he said.

Ana felt her eyes widening in shock. Christian stared at her silently, waiting to see what she did next. Suddenly bright smile lit up Ana's face. "I love you too," she said.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**A/N: I know I didn't upload for 3 LONG WEEKS, but I have an explanation for that. I got a new boss and she is Hitler reincarnated. So, I have been super busy managing her. Thanks a lot for staying with this story.**


	16. Chapter 16

**DISCLAIMER: **** Fifty shades of Grey or its' characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.**

**Uploading Unedited!**

**.**

***Information:***

Ana and her friends = 24 years old

Christian = 28 years old

Mia = 22 years old

Elliot = 30 years old

Stephen = 28 years old **[**I'm casting Stephen Amell as Stephen of my story ;)**]**

**.**

**.**

**Chapter - 16:**

**.**

Christian was super content with how his life was going at the moment. After telling Ana that he loved her and hearing her say them back was like balm to his soul. Whistling, he entered the penthouse. The lights were all turned off. Christian looked around the living room curiously, only to find someone standing by the large glass floor to ceiling window of the living room. Frowning, Christian stepped closer and recognized his best friend.

"Stephen?!" he called out softly, not wanting to startle the other guy. When Stephen didn't respond, Christian placed his hand on Stephen's shoulder and shook him lightly.

Surprised, Stephen turned around and asked, "Hey, when did you come back? How was the trip?"

"I just returned. The trip was awesome. Now... why are you standing around in the dark?" Christian questioned raising his eyebrow.

"I was just... enjoying the view," Stephen shrugged.

"Don't think that I didn't notice that you've been sulking around the whole week," Christian challenged.

Stephen grimaced. Even though he had promised to take Christian with him, he hadn't told Christian the news yet. "Your... dad gave me some news... last week," he said at last.

"What news?" Christian asked frowning.

"The serial killer that killed my parents... is getting out of jail next week," Stephen stated, blankly.

"What?! How?!" Christian exclaimed.

"He was given 25 years of prison without parole. He served them properly. According to your father, he had been a model prisoner. If his sentence didn't include 'without parole' part, he would've gotten out 10 years ago," Stephen added with a sigh.

"Can't you... try to get him back in prison? I mean... is 25 years enough for ALL of those murders?" Christian questioned.

"I wish it was possible, but one can't be punished twice for the same crime," Stephen informed defeatedly.

"I'm sorry," Christian sympathized.

"Nah! That's okay," Stephen shrugged again.

"Is there anything I can do?" Christian asked.

"I want to be... there when he gets out. I want him to see me, to always remember me. Will you... come with me?" Stephen asked.

"Of course, I will. When is it?"

"Next week's Monday,"

"Then we'll be there," Christian assured.

"Thanks, man," Stephen smiled at his best friend.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**3 days later.**

Ana had been running around like a headless chicken since the trip. She was really excited. Her uncle was getting released after long 25 years. Ana felt like her family wasn't complete with Jacob behind the jail, but now that he was getting out, Ana was excited to have her whole family home. She had managed to get a job for Jacob at the funeral home. Carla had rented a studio apartment two blocks from the Steele tower for him and had gotten all the basic items for the kitchen. Ana bought a small couch and a TV for the apartment. Ray didn't want anything to do with Jacob, but the mother-daughter pair blackmailed him into making a double bed for Jacob.

Ana knew that her friends would help her if she had asked, but they won't be comfortable. That's why she didn't ask any of them. She knew no one could understand why she considered a serial killer her family when she wasn't forced to. So, she never bothered to make them understand. She was grateful that even knowing about it, her friends never commented on it, never treated her differently.

Ana and Carla were painting the studio apartment in a lovely calming cream color when Ana's phone rang. Glancing at the caller id, she beamed. "Hey handsome," she greeted.

"Hey beautiful. How have you been?" Christian asked from the other side. He leaned back on his chair, glancing out the window of his office.

"I've been super busy this week, and it will continue to be so," she replied with a wry smile.

"New authors or something?" Christian questioned curiously.

"Um... no actually. It's a family matter. Christian, can I talk to you later, please? I've got to go," she said.

"Yeah sure, but when are we going to see each other next? It's been 3 days since we returned and you didn't even call me," Christian knew how insecure he sounded, but damn! He missed his girlfriend.

"I'm sorry I didn't call you," Ana offered, noticing the frustration in his tone. She didn't want to tell Christian about her uncle on phone. She knew a normal, sane person would not like to be associated with a known serial killer. On top of that, Jacob was really protective of Carla and Ana. She wasn't sure how Jacob would react to Christian either.

"Ana... why do I feel like you're avoiding me?" Christian asked bluntly, scowling hard.

"What?! NO! I swear I'm not avoiding you. It's just a relative of mine is coming home after a long time. So, I've been busy preparing for his return since I returned from the trip," Ana explained.

"Thank god! I thought you were having second thoughts," Christian confessed sheepishly. He sighed in relief and a smile came to his face.

"Second thoughts about what?" Ana frowned.

"About loving me," Christian said softly. Ana could hear the doubt in his tone.

"What?! NO, Christian, nothing like that even came to my mind. I've just been busy. I love you," she said with a guilty smile. She was nervous about Christian's reaction to her uncle being in jail.

"I love you too, Ana. I miss you so much," Christian said relieved.

"How about you sleep over at mine once everything here settles down?" Ana suggested.

"Sounds perfect. See you then,"

"See you soon," with a soft smile, she hung up.

"Did you tell him about Jacob?" Carla asked her daughter.

"No, I didn't. I'm not sure what to tell him. I think... they should meet first before I tell him?" Ana gave her mother a nervous look.

"I think if you explain why Jacob means so much to us, he might understand. It's possible he won't want to meet Jake, but that's okay too," Carla assured her daughter.

"What if he broke up with me?" Ana wondered, scared of the very thought.

"Then you'll be heartbroken and sad. You'll cry so hard that if anyone saw you they would think someone died. After a few days, you'll dust yourself off with grace and move on," Carla stated matter-of-factly. She had raised her daughter to be a strong, independent person. She knew for a fact that her daughter will be alright.

"I love him," Ana pouted.

"If he also loves you, he will endure your uncle. It won't matter how much it bothered him. Trust me. I'm speaking from experience," Carla said wisely. She knew how much Ray disliked that Carla and Ana loved Jacob, but he never told them to stop meeting him. He did grumble, a lot, but he never put a condition on his love.

With a deep exhale, Ana nodded her head. She had seen from childhood. Her father never approved of her meeting her uncle, but other than a displeased frown, he never told her to stop meeting Jacob. Shaking her head, she went back to painting.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**5 days later.**

Stephen had woken Christian up so early that day that even the sun was sleeping. They went for a long run with Christian grumbling under his breath the whole time. They returned to Escala when the sun was just rising. After showering and changing, they had breakfast in silence. Stephen was lost in thought and Christian didn't want to bother him with unnecessary chatter.

Taking Christian's Bentley, they headed for the prison. They parked at the prison parking lot and got out. Christian yawned, stretching his arms while Stephen leaned against the car. "Why are we here so early? I don't think anyone even woke up in there," Christian said pointing at the prison.

"I didn't want to risk loosing him," Stephen spared his best friend a side glance.

Shaking his head, Christian pulled out his laptop from the back seat and climbed up the hood of the car. Placing the laptop on his lap, Christian started working. Hours passed by. It was around 11 am when they saw a man approaching the prison's exit. He was tall, had a body like bodybuilders, strong jaws covered in scruff, black hair, and deep blue eyes. One could say he was rather handsome looking for a prisoner. Both Christian and Stephen straightened up at the sight of him. They had been so focused on the man that they didn't notice when a new car entered the parking lot.

They watched Jacob giving a nod to the smiling guard before stepping out of the final door. The man stood there for a moment, looking up at the sky with a thoughtful look on his face. They watched him take a deep breath before exhaling sharply. Stephen took a step towards the man when they heard someone's excited squeal. They watched dumbfounded as suddenly a young girl slammed into Jacob causing him to stumble. She was wearing a red sweater dress with bell sleeves and black high heel ankle boots. Her chestnut color hair was stylishly curled. At first, they thought the girl might have been a victim like Stephen and was attacking Jacob. They both tensed and were ready to defend the girl if necessary. They were surprised and more than a little shocked when they saw an affectionate and indulgent smile blooming on Jacob's face as he wrapped his arms around the girl and gave her a tight hug. Stephen and Christian took a step closer to eavesdrop on them.

"Hey munchkin," they heard Jacob saying.

"OH MY GOD! Uncle I can't believe you're FINALLY out here with me! Oh god! This is the best day!" the girl was vibrating with excitement and squealing as she said this.

Christian frowned titling his head a little. The girl's voice sounded really familiar to him. He couldn't stop his shocked gasp as she turned a little. "Ana?" he breathed out.

"What the fuck?!" Stephen stared in disbelieve.

"Calm down, kiddo. You're making me dizzy," they heard Jacob holding onto her shoulders to stop her from moving.

"Sorry. I'm just so happy. Mom got you a place near me AND I got you a job," Ana beamed with pride.

"Did you now?" Jacob asked raising his eyebrow at his niece, "And what job is this?"

"It's at a..." Ana trailed off as she noticed someone standing close-by from her peripheral view. With a frown, she turned to scold whoever it was and felt her eyes widening. "Christian?" she questioned.

"Hey, Ana?" Christian greeted, equally confused.

"You know him?" Jacob asked protectively placing himself between Ana and the boys.

"Yeah. I know them. This is Christian, the one I told you about, and that's Stephen, his best friend," Ana told her uncle. "Uh... Christian, this is my uncle, Jacob Williams," she said to Christian.

"Uncle?" Stephen gritted out in disgust. Jacob stared at Stephen with a blank look on his face.

"um?" Ana uttered, confused by Stephen's outburst. "What are guys doing here?" she asked Christian.

"We... uh... actually we..." Christian hesitated. He didn't know how to tell her that they had come here for the same man she was.

"I think I killed one of their parents," Jacob stated in a bored tone making Stephen bristle in anger.

"What?" Ana exclaimed, "Didn't you say your parents died in a car accident?" she asked Christian in an accusatory tone.

"Should you be using that tone with him when you're related to a serial killer?" Stephen snarled.

"Stephen!" Christian scolded, "Ana, my parents DID die in car accident. Stephen's parents on the other hand... " he trailed off glancing at his best friend. Stephen looked ready to kill someone.

"Oh!" Ana winced.

An awkward silence fell over them. Christian looked from Stephen's furious expression to Jacob's blank one awkwardly. He could see the Prison guards were keeping an eye on them. Christian hoped Jacob would at least apologize so that Stephen could get some closer, but that didn't seem to be happening.

"Ana, your mom must be waiting for us. Let's go," Jacob said emotionlessly. He acted like Christian and Stephen wasn't even there.

"You're just going to go?! You've nothing to say to me?!" Stephen asked in complete disbelieve.

Jacob glanced at Stephen like he was a piece of furniture in a room and turned to Ana. "Which one is your car?" he asked her.

"T-that one," Ana pointed towards her car before handing him her keys. Taking the keys from her, Jacob headed towards her car, but not before throwing Christian one last look. Once she was sure Jacob was out of hearing range, Ana gave Stephen an apologetic look. "I'm sorry about your parents, Stephen," she said.

Stephen gave her a disgusting look and went back to Christian's car. Christian waited until Stephen was far away before looking at Ana. "What the fuck just happened?" he asked.

"I'll explain everything to you. Will you please come over tonight?" Ana asked in a small voice.

"You're right. We need to talk. See you tonight," Christian said with a sigh before he left.

Ana stood there, watching him go. She felt like he was taking something important off of her. She waited until Christian's car left the parking lot before she returned to her car.

When she got inside, Jacob was waiting for her in the passenger seat. "How much do you love me now?" he asked smirking.

"No one likes a smart-aleck," Ana rolled her eyes.

"Didn't I always tell you both that loving me would be the worst mistake of your lives?" he groused.

"Let's go home," Ana announced in a fake cheerful voice, completely ignoring him.

"Are you even hearing me?" Jacob snapped.

"You want music? Okay," Ana said before turning the music on making Jacob huff. Smiling in victory, Ana started heading towards Jacob's new home. Ana continued to act cheerfully the whole drive and Jacob continued to give her suspicious looks. Parking the car in the parking lot of the building, Ana got out. Jacob followed her, scowling. "We should get you a car. It might take some time though," Ana said calling the elevator.

"The boy you like might dump you, and you're worried about getting me a car?" Jacob asked in disbelieve.

"Uncle Jake, I'm an adult. I'll deal with it. It's not your fault," Ana waved her head, clearly wanting to end this discussion.

"It's _**NOT **_my fault?! So, you're saying that this whole matter had _**NOTHING **_to do with the fact that I killed your boyfriend's friend's parents?" Jacob challenged, getting more irritated.

"It's not your fault that Christian and Stephen became best friends. It's also not your fault that I had to fall in love with _**THAT **_guy who knew one of your victims in a city of 724,745 people," Ana stated dryly, shaking her head. After all, what were the odds!

Jacob sighed before wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry that my past is coming to hurt you, kiddo," he said sadly. He had wanted the world for her. He never wanted his past to interrupt her future.

Ana gave him a sad smile and shrugged, "So, your new place is on the fourth floor of this building," she said.

Understanding that she didn't want to talk about Christian anymore, Jacob decided to play along. "Thanks for doing all these. You were saying something about a job earlier?"

"Yeah. There a funeral home nearby. I got you a job there. It takes 15 to 20 minutes on foot," Ana informed. "Mom also got you a cell phone. We didn't know where your old stuff were, so we didn't manage get them back. We DID get you some basics though,"

"I had my things kept in a storage space and paid 30 years of rent in advance. We can go there some time to see if we can get those back or not," Jacob informed just as the door of the elevator opened.

"What if even after payment they sold your stuff?" Ana asked frowning. Her uncle should've let her mom take care of those things for him.

"It won't matter. There was nothing THAT important in them... just some broken memories," Jacob stated before shaking his head.

"Broken memories? Are they the reason you were how you were?" Ana finally asked the question Jacob had been waiting for her to ask all these years.

"You can say the words 'Serial Killer', you know," he teased, "Yeah. They are the reason," he added softly.

"This is the apartment," Ana said pausing in front of one of the doors. "By the way, I want to know the whole thing from your point of view. In fact, I want to write your biography," Ana said, her tone dared him to say 'No'.

Jacob stared at his niece for a moment before he replied, "Okay, I'll do it... if you want," and then knocked on the door of his new home.

"Welcome home, Jake!" Carla shouted excitedly opening the door.

"Hey, Carla," Jacob smiled opening his arms at the woman he considered his family, his younger sister. Carla hugged Jacob, beaming. he didn't know what his life would've been like if Carla hadn't come into his life. "Missed you too, sis," he said softly, hugging her back.

"Come in! Come in!" Pulling on his hand, Carla dragged him inside the studio apartment.

Jacob looked around in amazement. the apartment wasn't that big but it was spacious. It was a open room with a kitchen at one corner and bathroom on the other. The opposite wall that had two large windows. A comfy double bed and a small bedside table was placed on one side of the room which was separated by a thin, but sturdy bookshelf. A good size TV was placed on it. There was a small 'L' shaped couch in front of the TV. The apartment had everything one would need. Jacob was happy how his sister and niece had decorated this place.

"This place is amazing," he breathed out.

"We're really glad you like it," Carla beamed at her brother. Ana linked her arm with her mother's and grinned at Jacob's reaction to the apartment.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Carrick had instructed the boys to return to the Grey manor after their visit to the prison. So, the Grey family were waiting for them when Christian and Stephen returned. Grace started to ask something when she noticed the looks on both men's faces. Stephen looked murderous, while Christian looked depressed. "W-What happened?" Grace asked worriedly.

"Is everything okay? Did he say something? You didn't punch him... right?" Carrick asked hesitantly.

"Of course, I didn't punch him. Not that I didn't want to," Stephen grumbled.

"Is that why you look so... angry?" Mia asked softly, not wanting to ruffle him more.

"Why don't you ask your brother why I look so angry?" Stephen asked bitterly.

Everyone turned to Christian who had been standing there silently till now. "Uh... turns out… um..." Christian hesitated. He didn't know how he felt about the knowledge he got this morning. He wanted to sort out his own feelings before sharing the news with others, but he didn't think Stephen would stay silent about it. Clearing his throat, he started again, "When Jacob Williams was coming out, we tried to approach him, but someone from his family was there,"

"Ookaay. So, what if his family member was there?" Carrick was confused.

"It's... someone we know," Christian muttered lowering his head.

"We know someone who is related to THE most known serial killer of Seattle?! Who is it?" Elliot asked in disbelieve.

"It's..." Christian hesitated.

"Ana. It's Ana," Stephen completed Christian's sentence causing everyone to gasp in shock.

"Ana? As in our Ana?! Carla's daughter, Ana?!" Grace asked, astonished.

"How many other Ana's do you know, mom?" Elliot asked, confused.

"How can this be possible? From the information I was given, Jacob Williams doesn't have any family. He had been orphaned really early in life. He spent his life passing from foster home to foster home," Carrick shared, frowning.

"She was calling him 'Uncle'," Stephen informed dryly.

"Is there a possibility that Mr. Serial Killer be Ms. Carla or Mr. Steele's brother?" Mia wondered aloud.

"That's not possible either. I had their backgrounds checked when they first came into our lives. Mr. Steele, Ray, has two younger sisters. One lives in New York, and the other one lives in Los Angeles. Carla is the only child of her parents. She lost them young and her aunt raised her. Her aunt never married and gave all of her money and properties to Carla when she died. Carla and Ray divorced 3 months before Ana's birth. They got back together when Ana was born, but never married. Nowhere in their lives was Jacob mentioned," Carrick told them pulling out the mail in his phone that had Steele family's background checks.

"How can that be possible?" Stephen growled.

"Wait... " Carrick said frowning, "In the extra information it's mentioned that both Carla and Ana goes to the prison once every month to visit someone," he added.

"Maybe they volunteer in one of those programs where they bring prisoners with no family some gift or something for Christmas?" Christian said hopefully.

"The way they were greeting each other expressed a deep bonding, and that can't be possible with once a year Christmas visit," Stephen pointed out with a huff.

"Maybe we should just ask Carla or Ana about it to be sure. I'm sure there is a reason behind all these," Grace said wisely.

"I'm going to Ana's tonight. I'll ask her," Christian informed.

"Is that safe?" Stephen asked, panicking. "Don't forget, Jacob Williams used to kill couples," he warned. He really didn't want to lose his friend.

Christian gave him an assuring smile. "From the glare I received from the man earlier, I would say he loves Ana like his daughter or something along the line. So, I'm sure I'll be safe," he said.

"That was not as reassuring as you thought it was," Elliot pointed out, "It just means he won't kill Ana," he added.

"I'll be fine," Christian bit out glaring at his brother.

"How about you text us every half an hour if he's at Ana's to let us know that you're okay. Ana just text once if he's not at Ana's," Mia suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea," Carrick said, smiling at his daughter.

With a sigh, Christian said, "Okay, I'll do it,"

**.**

**.**

**.**

Ana held it together till she returned to her apartment. She told her friends that Christian was coming over and didn't want to be disturbed. Closing the door of her apartment, Ana leaned against it as the pleased smile slid from her face. She had hidden her real reaction from her mother and uncle. She didn't want to feel bad. IT seemed the fate had twisted sense of humor. How else had she managed to fall in love with one of her uncle's victim's family. She slid down on the floor as tears started rolling down her face. She knew it was no one's fault, but it didn't hurt any less. Ana knew Christian considered Stephen his brother from another mother. So, she knew who he would choose; it would be Stephen.

She should've known. Her life had been too good till now. Something awful was bound to happen. Wiping off her tears, she stood up from there and went up to her loft. She went straight to her shower and turned on the water. The cold water fell on her like rain, soaking her soul along with her clothes. She stood under the water, lost in thought for how long she didn't know herself.

Tyson's insistent barking outside the bathroom door broke her off of her stupor. Ana Finished her shower and got out of the bathroom in a fluffy blue bathrobe. She started drying her hair with a towel when the doorbell rang. Surprised that he actually came, Ana rushed down the stairs and answered the door. "You really came?" was the first thing she said.

Christian had lots of questions he wanted to ask and lots of things he wanted to say, but he blanked out when Ana opened the door in a blue bathrobe. Her hair was still wet, dripping water down her neck. Her face void of any makeup, making her look innocent that Christian's heart clenched painfully.

"Hey love," he greeted cupping her face.

Tenderness of this action caused Ana's breath to hitch and leaning into his touch. Pushing her inside the apartment, Christian closed the door behind him. Ana gasped as Christian's tongue swept across her lips. His hand cupped her cheek, his thumb caressing her jawline, as his other hand wrapped around her waist to pull her closer. Ana's hands splayed against his chest before slowly, tentatively, wrapping around his shoulders until they were melting into one another. A few moments later, they parted. Taking her hand, Christian led her to the loft where her bed was. He pushed her back until she was lying on the soft black duvet, his hand moving to her throat to caress a line to the V of her robe. His fingers slipped beneath the warm chenille until he was cupping the soft underside of her breast.

Ana moaned, not sure of where this was going but pretty much beyond caring. Christian's mouth left hers. He kissed across her cheek until his teeth and tongue found her unadorned earlobe and she inhaled sharply, desire pooling in her belly. His free hand tangled in the silky strands of her hair as the other tugged her robe apart before cupping her waist and pulling her further up the bed. Gently, he used his teeth against her throat. Ana began to whimper as he gently pinched and pulled her nipple then nipped and sucked at the area between her shoulder and neck. Unconsciously, Ana began to rub her thighs together, the slow heat rising from the juncture between her legs to throughout her body.

He pulled away from her long enough to slip his sweater over his head and then he was kissing her again, this time harder, deeper. His fingers slid to the back of her head and he ran his hand from her breast to her thigh. He pulled her leg to him until she was so snug against his body that she could feel his erection push at her through his trousers. Ana gasped as her uterus seemed to contract in response. She was on fire and her thighs were becoming almost embarrassingly slick with want. His mouth left her lips to latch onto her breast. He ran his tongue against the delicate pale pink skin before scraping it with his teeth causing her to cry out and buck into his hips. He ground himself against her as he began a gentle suction inter-spaced with more tiny nips and the flicker of his tongue. His hand moved from her hip to her inner thighs, through the copious moisture gathering there, pausing long enough to make a gruff noise of approval against her breast, until he found the underside of her clit. Applying firm, steady pressure, Christian began to rub tiny circles into the nerve cluster, occasionally dipping into her heat for more lubrication. Her eyes rolled back as her entire attention zeroed in on what was happening between her thighs. It felt good, so good, but she needed more.

As though he were reading her mind, his fingers found her center and pushed inside as his thumb continued its slow torture of her clit. She moaned; a low wanton sound that she hardly recognized. He lifted his mouth from her breast to gaze intently at her expression of open want. His hands left her and she protested with a whimper. He made a soothing noise, toeing off his shoes and pulling down his pants and boxer before climbing back on the bed with her. He kissed her again; a long, slow, sensuous kiss that seemed to last forever. He kissed her like they had all the time in the world, like this night, this moment would last for all eternity and he refused to be rushed in his lovemaking. He kissed her until her head swam and she began to tremble. Had she been standing her knees would have failed her until she was a drained and insensible mass of flesh at his feet. He was addictive, intoxicating, and just when she thought she couldn't take anymore he ended the kiss and moved his lips downward. He licked and sucked his way down her throat, between her breasts, down her stomach, then pulled her thighs apart and kissed her center. She started and tried to sit up but he pushed her down with a gentle but firm hand pressed to her abdomen as his tongue flicked out to find the swollen evidence of her arousal nestled above her folds.

She gasped and clutched at the sheets as his tongue swept across her moist flesh, teasing her clit, before he suckled it gently. His hand left her stomach and he gripped her thighs, pulling them further apart as he took his time exploring her. It was erotic torture; this lazy sensual creature between her thighs seemed determined to drive her insane as he performed some arcane tantra of tongue, teeth, and lips. She couldn't breathe, the oxygen left her lungs as he teased her with unhurried swipes of his tongue. His fingers moved up her inner thighs and he gently inserted them inside of her; first one, then two. She gasped at the slight but pleasurable sting of being stretched and he looked up, a wicked smile shining toward her in the form of full, glistening lips. "Ms. Steele, you taste wonderful," he said huskily, trying to get her attention.

"Wha…?" She said dumbly, the passion-fueled fog rendering her brain useless. He glanced down at the apex of her thighs, before he took a long lick of her slit. "Oh, uh—OH!" She was rendered suddenly speechless as he dove between her thighs with renewed vigor, his lips, tongue, teeth, and fingers acting in concert to bring her to a babbling boneless mess within seconds.

She thrashed and shuddered, speaking in the unintelligible language of passion as he sucked and nibbled at her heated flesh until her muscles tightened and she began to tremble through her orgasm. He kissed her thighs, the scrape of his beard adding to her pleasure as his cheeks rubbed against the pale sensitive skin. Ana loved that he had shaved that day. He drew the moment out for as long as he could, the fingers of one hand soothing her goose pimpled flesh as the long, thick digits of the other danced and teased against her center. He watched her unravel with hooded eyes and no small measure of smug satisfaction then scooted up the bed to lie beside her. He kissed her again with slow assurance and she could taste herself on his lips and tongue, the combination of his languid seduction and her own pheromones pushing all remaining lucidity from her mind. His hands drew her toward him, pulling her against then over until she was straddling him. She pulled away from his lips and looked between them in mild confusion but he tugged her upward until she was above him, her breasts level with his mouth as he began to nip and suck at them once more. His hand reached down between them and he lined himself up to her entrance before gently easing her down. Through the sharp pang of penetration and her own fogged senses she watched as his eyes shut, his features melting into an expression of ecstasy as velvet encased steel sheathed itself inside warm, wet heat. They both moaned as one as she slid down slowly until he was buried to the hilt. Christian's hands slipped up her body, under her robe, and then over her shoulders so that the material slipped down her arms to pool around them. He gazed intently at her form, now completely un-obscured by the thick robe, and ran both his hands over her outer thighs until he had a firm grip on her ass. He lifted her slightly and encouraged her to move her hips so she was grinding against him in small circles, teaching her through his firm but gentle touch how to set the rhythm of their lovemaking.

Her head fell back as she gasped and moaned with every thrust of his hips, continuing to grind down. His back arched off the bed as he thrust inside her, his hardness hitting a spot deep within her that caused her belly to tighten and spots appear behind her eyelids. As his rhythm deepened, she began to breathe and pant heavily. His fingers found her clit and began to rub against her as she continued to swivel her hips against him and she faltered at the sharp, intensely pleasurable sensation that shot through her body. He made an animalistic growl and then, in a skillful maneuver, he flipped them until he was once again in the dominant position. He grasped her thighs, hitching them over his waist, and roughly began to pound inside of her, slow seduction giving way to raw passion, as they raced toward completion. Every thrust of his hips sent a sweet, almost painful spark of energy through her entire body and all she could think of was the pleasure and sensation of being stretched, filled, and utterly possessed. Christian's mouth found her earlobe; his tongue curled as his teeth bit down and she cried out in pleasure, frantically clinging to him and mildly aware that she was now babbling nonsense. Words of want, need, and lust spilled forth in an almost unintelligible gibberish.

"Please," she moaned. "Please... oh God, Christian... I want—I want…!"

He looked down at her, his gaze dark and penetrating and it was all she could do not to open her mouth and confess every thought, every fantasy, every secret she'd ever had. He found her mouth again, his tongue dueling with hers as he thrust his hips harder, faster, until she couldn't stand up against the intensity of the onslaught of sensations any longer. Ana's mouth left his as she cried out, her back arched off the bed tight as a bowstring. She began to shiver and pulse, a rush of moist heat surrounding him, and heard the sharp intake of breath as he came, his body also shuddering in its release. He leaned heavily against her, his weight offset by propping his elbows on either side of her. He buried his head in her neck, his breath coming in uneven pants as her heart raced so fast it felt as though her entire chest was vibrating. Her legs eased down off his hips and she curled her hands gently against his back, feeling the slick sweat on his skin.

Christian rolled over onto his back pulling her along with him, his hands gently rubbing her arm that was splayed over his chest, her head pillowed in the hollow of his shoulder. She stared at the watermark on her ceiling, her nose catching a faint whiff of the acrid scents of semen, sweat, and musk. Now that lust wasn't fogging their brains, Ana was a little confused. Wasn't he supposed to break up with her? Why did they have sex suddenly? Not that she minded. Ana glanced at him, his eyes closed as his breathing began to calm. She looked down his torso where his hard abs were slick with sweat, then lower to his softening but still engorged cock as it lay wet and glistening against his thigh.

Ana eased out of bed, conscious of the wetness between her thighs as she made her escape when he spoke. "Where are you going?" Christian asked sleepily.

"Bathroom," Ana replied quickly. He hummed in response as she hurried over to her en suite, grabbing a wash cloth from the antique cabinet where she kept her towels and started the shower. She stepped into the warm water, wincing at the sting of her hard worked pussy as she applied soap to the cloth and began to gently wash away the evidence of their lovemaking.

"Hey," Christian said from the bathroom's doorway.

"Hi," she said feebly from the shower stall, holding the wash cloth against her chest in surprise before realizing how ridiculous that was. He had seen her naked dozens of time before.

"Nice shower," he hitched his head toward her walk-in glass enclosed shower. "Do you mind?"

"No, no of course not. There are towels and washcloths in there along with extra robes." she said pointing at the corner.

"Thanks, but I don't think kitten print towels are a good look for me," Christian said, amused.

"You can stay naked if you want to then, I don't mind," Ana blurted out causing Christian to chuckle in response as he hung the bath sheet on a hook then entered the shower. They washed each other clean while touching each other as much as they can.

Ana got out first and left Christian to finish. She pulled on her bathrobe again and stood frozen in the middle of her bedroom. She was confused by his behavior.

"Hey," Christian said coming toward her with a frown, one of her towels wrapped low on his hips, "You okay?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Uhhh, yeah. Why?" She said, turning around in his arm with a deer-in- headlights look on her face.

Christian smiled and gathered her up in his arms. "Shh, it's okay," he said softly, as he rubbed her back gently and tucked her head under his chin. "It's okay to be a little freaked out. I'm a little freaked out myself,"

"Yeah?" She asked as she melted into his skin, still moist and warm from the shower.

"Of course," he rumbled quietly against her, placing a kiss against her hair. "I just learned that you're related to a murderer ... the same one that killed my best friend's parents. I understand why you're nervous about my reaction," Ana stiffened in his arms, her eyes going wide as he looked down at her and chuckled, "It's okay, I've got you, alright?"

"Okay," she said faintly as he led her back to the bed and pulled back the covers.

He walked to the other side and tugged off the towel, letting it fall to the floor as he eased between the sheets and pulled her into his arms. With gentle pressure he urged her to lay her head on his chest as he rubbed her back soothingly. "By the way, I meant to tell you, this is a really nice place. The loft design is nice,"

"Thanks," Ana breathed out, her voice trembling slightly as she tried to figure out just what

"Ana?"

"Yeah?" She breathed, looking up at him.

"Just because we weren't expecting this it doesn't mean I'm angry," he said with a gentle smile. "It's not your fault to be related to a murderer. I understand that. It doesn't matter to me. Stop worrying about it and just relax, okay? We're good."

"Are you sure?" She asked in a wobbly voice. She was finding it hard to believe him. "How can you be 'okay' with this? If you knew the whole story I could've understand, but the thing is... you don't even know the whole thing," She sat up as she exclaimed, frustrated.

"Then tell me. I can see it's been bothering you. Tell me how are you related to Jacob Williams," Christian asked softly, sitting up.

"Uncle Jacob is not biologically my mom's brother," Ana started after taking a deep breathe, "My mom was 28 weeks pregnant with me when she got into some silly argument with dad and divorced him. She moved to Seattle because her aunt was really sick. She started taking care of her aunt as her gestation continued normally. It was on her 38th weeks when her labor pain started. Mom told me that she had returned from the hospital the night before to shower and sleep when it happened. On top pf that her car broke down on the way to the hospital..."

"Ana, wait! How is this related to Jacob Williams?" Christian asked confused why she was telling about the day she was born.

Ana gave him a look that shut him up, and then she continued, "Mom thought she would be able to walk the rest of the way. Why she thought that I don't know. Anyways, she was walking and suffering when a car passed by her and stopped. A man came out of the car. When mom asked for help, he asked her some medical questions and then he helped mom deliver me. He then took us to the hospital," she finished.

"Um... how is this relevant?!" Christian was even more confused.

"One week later mom learned from the news that the man that had helped her was a serial killer and his name was Jacob Williams," Ana finished.

"Wait a minute! THAT man from the car was... Jacob Williams?" Christian asked, surprised.

"Yeah. Mom wanted to replay him for his help. So, she went to the court the day of the hearing. That's where she learned that uncle Jacob had no one. Then, I guess... she adopted him. He hates this so so much. Especially when she started visiting him once a month at the prison. I grew up hearing about uncle Jacob. I never met him but I loved the man that saved my life. When I was 16, mom had some surgery so she couldn't go to meet uncle Jacob. I volunteer. Since that year, mom and I visited uncle Jacob each month," Ana explained.

"Wow!" Christian breathed out. He was speechless.

"Christian, no matter how much you or anyone want... I will never regret considering Jacob Williams my uncle," Ana said boldly, "I know he's a serial killer. He killed a lot of people brutally, but he was never bad to me. I know I have fucked up logic but I love him. He's my family,"

Christian placed a finger against her lips then dipped his head to kiss her cheek. "Ana it's okay. I understand where you're coming from," he said.

"I didn't you to have to choose between Stephen and I," she said apologetically.

He lifted his head and looked her in the eye, "There is no choice to make; you will always come first. Before me, before Stephen, before everyone and anyone. You come first," Christian said sternly.

"Okay. I love you, Christian," she said quietly, entranced by the shifting colors in his eyes.

"I love you too, Ana," he said, giving her a lingering kiss. He pulled away from her and blinked down at her sleepily, "Come on; let's just sleep and we can talk more tomorrow, okay?"

"But…" Ana stopped and licked her lips. She felt like they should talk some more. "See, I just..."

"Tomorrow," Christian told her firmly, kissing her again. "Sleep first, everything else can wait, okay?"

She exhaled the breath she had been holding and nodded. "Okay."

"Turn the light off, Baby," he told her, settling back down into the pillow. She turned away from him long enough to switch off her bedside lamp then snuggled in beside him and closed her eyes. She was sure she wouldn't be able to sleep, but as soon as her eyes closed, she could feel her tension fell away from her body.

**.**

Christian woke up in the middle on the night. He didn't what woke him up, but he knew it was his brain screaming at him. Last night he was listening to his heart and dick, but now that his head was clear, he couldn't stop him thoughts from running through his head. Christian had remembered to text his family that Jacob wasn't in Ana's apartment before going to sleep. He didn't like this situation they were in. He didn't like that his family would worry each time he meets his girlfriend. Stephen was also a fact to consider. If Christian and Ana continued their relationship, there was a large chance Stephen would've to come face to face with Jacob repeatedly. Christian didn't think that was fair to Stephen. On top of that what's the guarantee that Jacob won't try to kill his family. Christian didn't want to be the reason Jacob had access to his family. On the other hand, he really, really loved Ana. Her not telling him about Jacob felt like betrayal to him. He finally understood where she was coming from but there was a bitterness that kept poking him. Shouldn't you tell someone that you personally know a serial killer? But then again, they had been too busy first fighting, and then playing pranks on each other the whole time they have been dating. Even though they loved each other, they still had a lot to learn about each other.

_**'Will we be able to learn about each other thought?! If we stay together, our families will always be in pain. Are we really that selfish?! Am I?!**_' Christian rubbed his face in frustration. He really loved the girl sleeping in his arms, but he also didn't want to hurt Stephen. Then, Christian recalled a quote of Honore De Balzac. **"Some day you will find out that there is far more happiness in another's happiness than your own." **Christian took a deep breath. His decision was made.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**A/N: So? Was two weeks of wait worth it? I'm so nervous about your reactions. But you know what? This needs to happen for the sake of the story. And it's JUST a story NOT real life, in case someone mistook it... again.**


	17. Chapter 17

**DISCLAIMER: **** Fifty shades of Grey or its' characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.**

**UPLOADING EDITED!**

**.**

***Information:***

Ana and her friends = 24 years old

Christian = 28 years old

Mia = 22 years old

Elliot = 30 years old

Stephen = 28 years old **[**I'm casting Stephen Amell as Stephen of my story ;)**]**

**.**

**.**

**Chapter - 17:**

**.**

Ana awoke sometime later to see Christian kneeling beside her, fully dressed. "Hey." he said greeting her softly.

"Hey, what time is it?" She mumbled, reaching over to gaze blearily at her phone.

"Not quite 4:00 am," he said quietly, "I didn't want to leave without talking to you first." he added.

"Oh. Okay?" She blinked her eyes, confused as she turned on the lamp and the whole room became visible. She pulled the blankets towards her chest for warmth and ran hand over her hair, "You are heading out? Why so early though?" she asked.

"Um..." he muttered, straightening up so he could sit on the edge of the bed. Ana scooted up to lean against the headboard to give him room. He reached out to tuck a curl behind her ear gently. He then placed her leg that was outside the tangle of covers on his lap and ran his palm over her calf before settling his hand on her knee and squeezing it in an intimate gesture.

She reached out, placing her hand over his with a contented, if bleary, smile, "I can't believe you chose me. I'm sorry for Stephen, but I'm really happy that I still have you. You're going for jogging, right? Are you coming later? You know, I would love it if you bring a change of clothes with you," she suggested quietly. "Not that I'm pressuring you or anything. I mean, I know we just got serious and I don't want to seem pushy, but..." she rumbled on nervously.

"Ana," Christian interrupted, running his thumb across the back of her hand. He looked at her, his expression grim, "I won't be coming back,"

Ana froze instantly. For a second Ana thought she couldn't have heard right. She even had to blink her eyes a couple of times just to make sure she wasn't still asleep, but then she looked at his expression and knew that this was not going to be a good. She removed her hand from his light grasp. "What?! But you said..." and that's when she finally understood why he looked so guilty, "You don't mean just tonight, do you?" she asked softly with a sinking feeling in her chest.

"No," he confirmed tearing their hearts apart.

"You said I come first. You said you chose me," she said, her voice trembling, "I repeatedly asked you last night and you told me you would choose me... every time."

"I did choose you," he told her, shutting his eyes as if it pained him to admit it. "I wanted to be selfish, but I can't hurt my family and Stephen is also my family. On top of that... I don't want to put my family in risk. I can't trust their safety with your uncle around,"

"You're breaking up with me, aren't you?" Ana sniffed once tilting her head slightly to the side. She felt numb but not surprised. Hadn't she expected this all along?! "It's too dangerous for your family, huh?" she mumbled despondently.

Christian nodded and they sat in silence for a long moment. While Christian was affixing his best **'**_let her down easy_**'** face all Ana could think was **'**_Why is this happening to me?_**'** as she tried to get her emotions under control.

"Ana, I didn't want this for us. If I could... if it was possible for both families to be okay with each other then I would've tried, but… I'm sorry. I can't do this. We can't do this. We can't be **THAT **selfish,"

By then, Ana had her emotions under control. Now, she was not sad or heartbroken. She was angry. She counted to five in her head because, well, frankly she didn't feel like losing her phone by hurling it at his head. "Just so I'm clear... the reason we can't be together is because of you don't want to risk your friend and family's safety and for no other reason, right?" she asked.

"Exactly," Christian said grimly. "Sooner or later they're going to get hurt. Be it physically or emotionally. So, we should do what we can before it reached that stage,"

Ana narrowed her eyes as she glared at the love of her life. "Which is something you knew about before we had sex," she said, deadpanned.

"What?!"Christian felt confused by her tone. His hand left her knee.

"I said, you knew that Jacob Williams is my uncle and Stephen hates him before we had sex,"

"What are you trying to say?" He asked angrily.

"Just what I said," Ana told him in a disgusted tone, "After yesterday morning... none of this was news to either of us and yet you came to my house last night, took me to my bedroom, seduced me, and had sex with me, gave me this heartfelt speech about how you will choose me and all the stuff you're saying now was not going to be said... while planning out your break up speech. What? You wanted one last fuck before you break up with me, did you?" she taunted bitterly as tears rolled down her cheek.

"Whoa! I did not set out to seduce you just so I could get laid one last time and then break up with you afterwards!" He said in disbelieve. Angrily, he got up from the bed and faced her. "If that's all it was, I wouldn't have even bothered to try to have this conversation with you to begin with! Do you have ANY idea how hard it is for me?! Our relationship was NOT a joke, Ana! You are not my FUCK toy. I love you. I wanted to marry you!" he spat out harshly.

"I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm merely telling you how you're making me feel. Last night I asked you again and again if you're sure and you said you will ALWAYS choose me. So, tell me Christian, what else am I supposed to think?" Ana asked sniffing.

"But that's not how it is!" He yelled. "Look, if you want to yell and scream at me then you can, I don't blame you, but I'm just trying to do what's right! Nothing you say will change my decision," he said sternly.

"I'm not yelling... you are. Which, when you think about it, is pretty shitty of you to do right now because I'm the one who's being dumped," she told him wiping away her tears.

"Goddamn it, Ana! I did not set out to hurt you; that's not what I wanted to do and you know that! At least you should know that!" He said, pacing around the room angrily.

"Once again, just to be clear... you're breaking up with me and you don't want us to be together in a romantic or sexual way ever again," she said dryly as more tears rolled down her face. "How is that not the same thing as being dumped?" she asked confused.

"It just… isn't!" Christian exclaimed, completely frustrated. He pulled on his hair mercilessly, "Dumping someone implies that your feelings about that person have changed, but that's not what's happening here. Nothing that's happening right now is something I wanted to happen! But Ana…" he paused with a grimace; his hands balled up at his sides angrily.

"But?" she prompted.

He shook his head once then looked at her, his eyes filled with regret, "But, I can't hurt my best friend. The friend I consider my brother, nor can I risk my family's safety. I'm sorry. "

Ana swung her legs out of the bed and put on her robe that had fallen to the floor then stood up. "You're sacrificing our love for your best friend and family," she stated calmly before nodding her head. "Christian, I just want to remind you ONE important thing. **THIS **is real life; not an Indian serial where the hero or heroine sacrifices their happiness for the family's happiness," she said air quoting before she headed towards her bathroom.

"Where are you going?" he asked confused.

"To the bathroom."

"Why?" Christian asked, trailing after her like a lost puppy. He didn't understand why she was going to the bathroom mid conversation.

"The same reason everyone else goes to the bathroom when they first wake up. I have to pee," she said, shutting the door in his face and locking it behind her. "By the way, you didn't become a millionaire by self-sacrificing," she said through the door.

Frowning, Christian tried the knob. "Open the door, Ana. Let's talk face to face. Talking through the door feels childish," he said in an aggrieved tone.

"You're such a sadist, Christian. You're insulting me while tearing my heart out. Way to go," Ana said sniffing as she sat on the toilet seat and cried silently.

She could hear him as he leaned heavily against the door, "Please, just… open the door. I'm not doing this to upset you; the last thing I wanted to do was cause you pain, but I don't see any other choice. The last thing I had intended to do when I came over here last night was to make love to you but it happened. I forget everything when you're with me. You're my the one, Ana. and..." he sighed, "Just… just don't cry, baby. This is hard enough for me as it is." he paused, "Ana?" he tried the door again. "Are you okay?"

"Please go away," she said from inside.

"Ana, baby, please hear me out," he begged.

"Go, Christian! Go to your family and your friend! I'll be alright. I... just need some time... to pull myself together. I won't be able to do that... if you're still here when I come out. Please... leave," she sobbed out.

Christian rest his head on the bathroom door as his hidden tears finally made an appearance. "I love you, Ana. I'm sorry," he whispered.

**.**

**.**

**.**

She didn't know how long she had been in the bathroom. But when she came out, Christian was nowhere to be seen neither were his things. Tyson was lying in the middle of her bed. He perked up as soon as he saw her. Giving her dog a sad smile, she headed downstairs. Her eyes fell on the couch and the memories from that day when Christian first came to her apartment flashed through her mind. She smiled sadly as she recalled how mad he was about the ferret prank. Shaking her head, she went to her freezer and pulled out a tub of ice-cream. She stared at her freezer, a little puzzled. "When did I buy THAT much ice-cream?" she asked herself. Then she recalled that every time she goes for grocery shopping, she has a habit to buy 2 tubs of ice-cream each time. "Huh? I guess I'm an ice-cream hoarder," she muttered before pulling out 2 more tubs of ice-cream. She sat on the couch and started eating the ice-cream silently. She saw Tyson running down the stairs and heading for her. It seemed her dog was worried for her. He sat in front of the couch and rested his head on her lap as she continued eating ice-cream. With a deep sigh, she turned her TV on and started watching her favorite show 'Lucifer' from the 1st season. Soon, she was lost in the world of a charming Devil.

She took a break early in the morning and hung a paper outside her door saying she didn't want to be disturbed for the next few days. She made a large dish of lasagna and sat in front of the TV again to continue binge watching. Mid-morning, she took a break and took Tyson out for a long walk. Returning home, she sat back down in front of the TV and continued binge watching while packing away her living room. Her two-bedroom roof top apartment was finished. The next few days, that's what Ana did. She packed her apartment, run around her loft apartment with Tyson to burn the extra calories she had been eating. She wanted to empty her freeze before moving to her new place. She knew she was just trying to forget that the love of her life tore her hearts out so she kept herself busy. She avoided her friends and family saying that she was busy. None of them knew yet that Christian and Ana had broken up.

Once she had everything in her apartment packed up, Ana sat on the couch of her living room. She felt like a coward. She had hoped their break up was just some awful dream. When that didn't turn out to be true, she decided to keep herself busy and distracted. She didn't want to remember. She had been hiding from her family and friends like a coward. Shaking her head, she told herself to be brave as she dialed the familiar number.

"Hey, Honey bunch! How are you?" Ana was greeted with a loving voice.

"Since when do you call me 'Honey bunch', mom?" Ana asked, chuckling.

"I wanted to try something new. So... will you mind telling me why you vanished for a whole week with the instruction that you didn't want to be disturbed?" Carla asked bluntly.

"I-I just... " Ana stuttered as tear gathered in her eyes.

"The truth, Anastasia," Carla demanded sternly.

"He broke up with me, mom. He said... I'm his 'the one', but he can't risk his family or upset his friend constantly," Ana informed through her tears.

"Oh, baby girl! I'm so sorry,"

"Mom, don't tell uncle Jake. He will blame himself," Ana requested sadly.

"I won't tell him," Carla assured, "but I AM telling your friends. You should NOT be alone," she added sternly. She was worried Ana might go into depression or harm herself.

"I'm not going to harm myself, mom," Ana sighed recognizing her mother's fear, "but if telling them makes you feel relieved, then go ahead,"

"Alright then," Carla sighed in relief.

"Did you take uncle to the funeral home? I'm sorry I left it on you,"

"Yes, I showed him. He already started working there. I also got him a cell phone and texted you the number. I don't mind spending time with the man I claimed as my brother. It's been refreshing to spend time with him out of the prison," Carla gushed excitedly.

Ana laughed. her heart lightening at her mother's happiness. "We should do something together," Ana suggested.

"Sounds like a lovely idea, dear, but how about we do that a few weeks later when you feel better?"

"Yeah, sure. Thanks, mom. I love you,"

"I love you too, sweetie. Talk to you later then. Bye,"

"Bye, mom," with that Ana hung up. She felt guilty that she didn't go to visit her uncle since that first day he got out. She saved Jacob's number and then called.

"Annie? Is that you?" greeted Jacob from the other end of the phone.

Ana smiled. "Hey, uncle. Yes, it's me, your favorite niece," she said cheerfully.

"You're my ONLY niece," Jacob snarked.

"That's why I'm your favorite," Ana pointed out.

"Are you though? Are you?" Jacob asked, smirking.

"Rude," Ana giggled like a little girl.

"I am rude!? You're rude! Where have you been this whole week?" Jacob demanded.

"Sorry, uncle. I suddenly had to deal with two of my authors. They hate each other and Liam had mixed up their timings. It was a huge mess to clean up. I'll come to meet you in a few days. Oh! I'm also moving into a bigger apartment today. So, my schedule is a little hectic,"

"As long as everything is okay with you, I don't have any problem. Take care of yourself, kiddo. I love you,"

"I love you too, uncle. I heard you started your job at the funeral home. How are you liking it so far? If you don't like it, we can look for something else," Ana offered.

"Ana, it's a good job. I don't mind. I also have a nice TV, courtesy of my lovely niece, that I can binge watch the shows I missed,"

"That's a relief. I was worried," Ana said softly.

"How's your boy doing? Did he say anything about me?" Jacob asked suddenly.

"Christian is... was a little troubled, but we talked and we're good now," Ana lied.

"That's good to hear. I was worried my presence will create trouble for you," Jacob confessed.

Ana's apartment door burst open and all of her friends poured in with panicked looks on their faces. Ana stared at them in confusion. "Uncle, I have to do. I'll talk to you later, okay," she said in the phone as she watched her friends starting to look at each other sheepishly.

"Is everything okay? I heard a loud sound," Jacob asked agitated. He considered Ana his daughter. The thought of any harm coming to her filled him with rage.

"Everything is fine, uncle. It's just my friends... super eager to help me move," she replied dryly raising her eyebrow at her friends.

"Okay then. Bye,"

"Bye, uncle Jake," she said before hanging up. "Is there any specific reason you guys burst into here like that? I know for a fact that Bill has a key of this apartment. Was breaking the door really necessary?" she asked her friends with a sigh.

"Sorry. When Carla told us about your break up, we were worried and forgot about the key," Caleb said apologetically.

"That's okay. Thanks guys," Ana smiled at her friends.

"So, what happened?" Kate asked taking a sit beside Ana while others gathered around them. With a deep sigh and tear-filled eyes, Ana started telling them what happened. Ana thought some of her friends might agree with Christian, but she couldn't have been more wrong. She could see all of them siding with her. She was thankful to have such loyal friends.

Two hours later, Ana and her friends started moving her things to the new apartment on the top floor. It took them more than 8 hours to move all the boxes upstairs and unpack them in specific rooms. Tyson was super excited as he ran from room to room. This apartment had one large master bedroom, one guest room, open plan living, dining, and kitchen. The kitchen was large with an isle in the middle. There also two full baths. One is the en-suit of the master bedroom and the other one was for the guestroom and rest of the apartment. Ana was pleased with how this apartment had turned out. Once everything was unpacked, they sat around Ana's new living room with pizza and beer. She noticed her friends were doing their best to keep her distracted. She loved them for their efforts.

"Okay, guys. I just need another few days to settle in. After that I'm coming back to work," she announced.

"That would be ideal. The Customers and Clients had been asking for you," Nicolas said nodding his head.

"See you all in a few days then," Ana smiled.

**.**

**.**

**.**

He stared out the window, lost in thought. His hand was resting on one hand while his other hand held the neck of an expensive bottle of brandy. There were at least a dozen other empty brandy bottles scattered around the office room/ Ever since that night when he broke up with Ana, Christian had been camping in the office of his penthouse. He didn't bother to shower or eat. He only worked through emails and drank Brandy like his life depended on it. Taylor and Stephen had tried to get him to open the door, but Christian just hollered at them to leave him alone. Even Gail had tried to get him to open the door and eat something, but he didn't bother. Defeated, Stephen called for reinforcement on the 3rd day. Grace and Mia came as soon as they could and tried to get him out of his office. When that didn't work, Carrick and Elliot came. Even their efforts were wasted. At last, Elliot and Stephen threatened to break the door. Christian countered it with one of his own threats. He promised to sue them both for destruction of private property.

"Why is he acting like this? Do you have any idea what happened?" Carrick asked Taylor.

"As far as I know, he had gone to Ms. Steele's for their date night. He was planning on sleeping over, but instead of staying there... he came back in the middle of the night, clearly upset. He then told me to take care of Dodger, his ferret, and after taking the case of expensive Brandy to his office, he locked himself there. He hadn't come out once since then," Taylor shared. He was really worried for the young man he called his boss.

"Do you think something happened between Christian and Ana?" Grace asked, clutching her husband's arm in worry.

"What are guys STILL doing here?" asked Christian Glaring at his family drunkenly. No one noticed that he had come out of his office carrying an empty case.

"Christian, you came out of there!" Mia grinned excitedly.

"It's my home. Where I go... when I go... and for how long I stay there is really NONE of your business," Christian snapped in a cold tone.

Mia's smile fell at her brother's tone. Frowning, Stephen scolded his friend, "She was just happy you're not locked in a room. Why are you being so rude?"

"The apartment downstairs have been ready for some time now. Why didn't you move in there yet?" Christian asked Stephen raising his eyebrow.

"I told you I will get my own place," Stephen frowned at the sudden topic change.

"Then do it. For how long are you going to stay here like a parasite?" Christian sneered.

Stephen was stunted into silence. Christian had always treated him like a brother. The comment was so unlike him. Christian had never talked to him like this.

Greys were also horrified at Christian comment. "Christian! Apologize right now! That's no way to talk to your friend," Grace scolded.

"Son, what's going on? Why are you behaving like this?" Carrick asked.

"It's Ana, isn't it? She made you choose between her and us, your family, didn't she?" Stephen spit out with a nasty scowl.

"She didn't make me do it," Christian said, his face void of any emotion, "My love and concern for this family made me choose... and I chose this family. I broke up with Ana," he said staring his family in the eye, "But that doesn't mean I love her any less. It just means that from now on... whenever I look at any of you, I'll be reminded what a spineless fool I am, and how much I've hurt the love of my life in the name of this family," he added bitterly.

Christian's family was shocked at the revelation. None of them missed that he said _'this'_ family, instead of _'my'_ family. They had never expected him to take such drastic measures. Yes, they were wary, but they didn't want Christian and Ana to separate. "You didn't have to break up with her," Elliot said, mildly.

"Yeah? And make her endure Stephen's insulting comments and our family's wary looks while I worry for all of your safety?! Are you crazy? This was the only way," Christian snarled coldly.

"Oh Christian!" Grace had started crying. Her heart was bleeding for both kids.

"Christian? Did you learn how is she related to Jacob?" Carrick inquired.

"From what Ana said... the day Carla started having labor pains, she got stranded in the middle of some deserted road. Mr. Williams was passing by. He stopped and helped her deliver Ana as her contractions were too close to head to hospital. Then, he drove Carla and a newborn Ana to the hospital. It seems Carla found out that he was a Serial Killer from the news when he surrendered..." Christian trailed off with a confused look on his face. He still found the whole incident bizarre. Carla and Ana could've easily been Jacob's next victims, but instead, he saved their lives.

"When Ana's mom found out about him, she didn't get disgusted? How did she end up considering him her brother? Did he hypnotize her or something?" Stephen asked in disbelieve.

"I don't know," Christian shrugged, "Now if the Q&A part is over, I'd like to be alone. Taylor, after everyone is gone, please change the password of the elevator and don't give it to anyone until further notice. Gail, make a week's worth of food to keep in the freezer and then you are to go to your sisters for a 7 day vacation. Taylor, Help Stephen find a place and move him there. I don't want to be disturbed the rest of the week... by anyone," he instructed before heading to the cellar to get another case of liquor.

Every one of them stared at him in shock. They were unsure if they should leave him alone like he said or anger him more by staying. In the end, they left as Christian was an adult and they weren't welcome in his home at the moment.

"He had never been this way before?" Elliot commented sadly.

"He's in a lot of pain right now," Carrick said sighing, "That's why he's lashing out,"

"My poor baby! He didn't have to sacrifice his love for us. He'd finally found someone to open his heart to," Grace sobbed resting her head against her husband's chest.

"At least, we won't have to worry about meeting Ana's murderous uncle," Mia chimed in. She was more sympathetic to Stephen than her brother. Rest of the Grey family stared at her in disbelieve to which she just shrugged.

That's how one week later, Christian found himself sitting alone in his office.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Two days before Ana was due to return to her work, she decided to spend time with Uncle. She took Tyson, 6-pack beer and drove to Jacob's apartment building. She walked Tyson in the park opposite Jacob's building as he hadn't returned from his work. After 25 minutes, Ana was crossing to Jacob's building when he drove in. He greeted her with a large smile before parking his bike in the basement. He had opted to buy a bike instead of a car.

"HEY KIDDO!" he shouted excitedly climbing down from the bike.

"HEY UNCLE! NICE RIDE! I LIKE IT," Ana eyed the bike appreciatively.

"Your dad took me to buy this," Jacob informed smirking as he approached his niece. Ana snickered. "Oh! I missed you, Annie," he said hugging the young girl. He knew he would always see her as that teenager that came to meet him first time in jail. For him, she'll always be a young girl that he needed to protect.

"I'm sorry, I didn't come earlier. That's why I brought beer and ordered pizza today. We're going to hang out. You're going to be sick of me by the time I go back," Ana announced with a teasing smile.

"I'm already sick of you," Jacob joked.

Ana snickered. "This is Tyson, my baby boy. I wanted introduce you two," she said gesturing to the dog standing by her side calmly while keeping his eyes on the stranger in front of him. Ana handed Jacob some treats and showed him how to do the sit command.

Jacob copied the motion. When Tyson sat down, he was given the treat by Jacob. Ana smiled happily at them. Then Jacob crouched a little and immediately Tyson approached him to sniff him. Jacob rubbed Tyson behind the neck like Ana showed him and he found himself smiling at the dog. "Is he a good guard dog?" Jacob asked as they headed upstairs.

"Yeah. I noticed that he reacts to my expressions. If I grimace while greeting someone, Tyson would growl and that person. If I greet someone excitedly, he would stay by my side calmly to see if I need help. If I introduce him to someone, then he knows they are friend," Ana explained.

"Good," Jacob nodded, satisfied. He liked that his niece had a large dog to protect herself. "Didn't you say you have pizza too? I only see the beer," he asked suddenly noticed Ana's empty hand.

Ana snickered. "The pizza should be here in a few minutes,"

"Great. I'll have time to shower then," Jacob nodded.

"Did you go up to the roof of this building? It's really nice. It was one of the plus points,"

"No, I didn't. I would've liked to see that," he said thoughtfully. It had been a while since he saw the open sky.

"Why don't you shower and change while I wait for the pizza? Then we can take these to the roof. We can hang out there," Ana suggested.

"Sounds like plan," Jacob replied opening the door of his studio apartment. He headed to the bathroom while Ana turned the TV on, waiting for the pizza delivery guy.

Pizza arrived a few minutes later. Ana got the blankets, pizza and beer ready and was bouncing on her feet when Jacob came out of the bathroom fully dress. He gave her a confused look and said, "Do you have to pee?"

"What? NO!"

"Then why are doing the pee-pee dance?" he asked hanging the towel.

"I was waiting for you, Uncle," Ana huffed, "Come on! Hurry up! I'm hungry," she whined.

"Yes, I'm ready. Let's go," he said smirking.

They went up the roof. Ana and Jacob sat on the railing looking out at the city view as they chatted, ate and drank. Tyson was running around the roof playing with the toy Ana had handed him. "So, how's work going?" Ana asked.

"My boss is a nice guy. He showed me what to do, how to do it. He was very patient with me," Jacob replied sipping from his beer.

"If he's so nice, then why does it look like you're eating something sour?" Ana asked raising her eyebrow.

"There's another worker there... that's been getting on my nerves. I really want to start my life fresh. I don't want to kill anymore, but damn! He makes it hard," Jacob exhaled angrily.

"What does he do?"

"The other day he tripped me and I fell in the casket with her face in the dead girl's boobs. Before I could get up, the family members of that girl came in the room and they were super pissed. They thought..." he trailed off.

"That you were trying necrophilia?" Ana giggled.

"Yeah. The dad almost strangled me. They didn't believe me that I tripped and fell. All while that fucking asshole was in hysterics," Jacob rolled his eye.

"Poor you! So how did they calm down?"

"Finally, my boss showed them the CCTV footage and they believed me,"

"Was that worker scolded?"

"Yeah, but he continued his antics,"

"Maybe he's just tried to be your friend," Ana teased. She felt him tensing beside her. Ana didn't look at his face but she knew the glare directed towards her must have been icy. She couldn't contain her laughter and once he understood that she was joking his eyes were even colder. "I'm sorry I had too. You are just too perfect for me to miss a chance to joke," she said between her giggles.

"You do know that one pat on the back from me and you will be flying down the unknown?" he asked seriously, but Ana could hear the hint of a joke in his voice.

"Aww... you wouldn't. You'll miss me," Ana winked at him playfully causing him to rolled his eyes hard.

"If all you're going to do is make fun of me, then I won't talk to you," Jacob announced.

"Come on, Uncle! I was just teasing you," Ana pouted up at him prettily.

"Nope, I'm angry," he said.

"Okay... how about... let's set the world on fire and watch from very high above how everything and everyone burns in agony," Ana suggested in very serious voice earning a strange look from her uncle.

"That was dark," he murmured.

"Your co-worker will be the first one to burn," she said raising her eyebrow waiting for him to say something.

As expected, Jacob smiled darkly. "I like how that sounds,"

"Of course, you do," Ana smirked shaking her head and took a sip from the beer.

"We're not REALLY burning everything... right?" Jacob asked a few moments later.

"Nope," Ana replied sipping her beer.

"Good," Jacob nodded taking a sip from his beer.

"Uncle... how long has it been since you got laid?" Ana asked suddenly causing Jacob to choke on his beer.

"What?" he coughed.

"I mean you've been in jail for 25 years. Shouldn't you want to get laid or something?"

"Kid, I'm not talking to you about this," Jacob shuddered.

"I could've helped you; you know? I'm a good wing-man," Ana insisted.

"No thanks," he replied dryly.

"I really am a good wing-man. I swear I could get you laid," Ana continued insisting.

"For fuck's sake, Ana. DROP IT!" Jacob growled.

"But.."

"DROP IT!" he hissed. They continued this argument till late at night.

**.**

**.**

The next day Ana did her grocery shopping, walked Tyson, went to the beauty salon and finished all her chores so that upcoming next few days she could concentrate on her work. She was walking out of the salon when someone called her from behind. Turning around, she found an old woman squinting at her. Ana felt like she had seen this woman somewhere, but she couldn't remember.

"I see you're alone today. Where's your boyfriend that took you to a cemetery on a date?" the old woman sneered.

"Cemetery..." Ana trailed off as she realized who this woman was. This was the woman that had ran Christian and her off of the cemetery that day. Tear gathered in her eyes as she opened and closed her mouth. She had tried hard in the last 10 days to not think about the man; not to even say his name. In that one moment, her every effort went down the drain.

"Why are you mimicking a gold fish now!? Ugh! No manners in today's youth!" the old woman grumbled.

Ana couldn't find it in herself to say anything to her. With a shaky _**'**__Excuse me__**'**_she turned around and ran. She didn't know how long she had been running. She could feel the burn in her muscles, her accelerated heartbeat, her eyes blurred from her tear. At one point, she just collapsed in the middle of road, sobbing. "Christian!" she wailed clutching her chest. "I can't... please..." she continued. She only felt the pain in chest as memories after memories of Christian tore through her brain. She didn't feel the rain that soaked her nor did she feel the cold as the temperature dropped.

Ana didn't know how long she had laid in the middle of the road, getting rained on, but when she finally calmed down to nice her surroundings, she saw that a homeless man had removed her from the road and put her under a shelter beside him.

"How did he die?" the man asked when he noticed her looking around, confused.

"He didn't die. Just... fate was cruel to us," Ana replied leaning her head against the wall behind her.

"Fate does have a cruel nature," the man sighed.

"Thank you for bringing me under the shelter,"

"No problem," he shrugged.

"How did you become... like this?" Ana asked hesitantly.

"I was in foster care all my life," the man started with a wry smile, "I joined army after I turned 18. I was in there for 10 years before I was forced to retire due to some wounds. When I came back, I fell in love and got married. We were happy... then my wife was diagnosed with Cancer. We tried everything, but at the end, I lost her. I had taken loans to pay the medical bills. I was so stressed that I was distracted on work, so they fired me. To pay the loans, I had to sell our house, everything inside of it, leaving me and my son with nothing. I had to send my three-year-old son to live with his aunt, my wife's sister, while I tried to get jobs and failed. That's how I turned into a homeless person," he shared sadly.

"I'm sorry about your lost. I'm Ana. What's your name?"

"I'm Jonathan,"

"Jonathan, if I offer you a job, will you be willing to accept it?" Ana asked. She wanted to help the man as she had also helped her.

"What?! You don't need to pity me," Jonathan scowled.

"I'm not pitying you," Ana rolled her eyes, "I want to repay you for your kindness. You didn't have to bring me under the shelter, but you did. That's why I'm offering,"

"What's the job? I won't do anything illegal,"

Ana nodded. "That's good to know. I own bookstore' Library, a restaurant, and a shoe retail store. I'm offering you a job as a waiter, shoe sales man, or a library helper. You can choose which one you want to do," she explained.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah,"

"Oh my god! YES! Any of them will do!" he exclaimed beaming at Ana. He hadn't expected anything when he helped that crying girl.

"Cool! You should go then. Hey... did you see my phone? I think we should call a cab,"

"Oh! Do you mean... that phone?" Jonathan asked sheepishly pointing at the water drenched mess beside Ana.

"Oh no!" Ana moaned in distress, "We'll have to wait for the rain to stop now," she pouted.

"That's okay,"

Two hours later, the rain stopped. Ana managed to hail a cab and they went to Steele Tower. Caleb took Jonathan to the restaurant. Nicolas interviewed Jonathan while William, Ana's hacker friend, did a background check on the man. When everything he said turned out true, Jonathan was hired. Ana rented him her previous loft apartment as he had no home. She had wanted to give him the apartment for free like she did with all of her friends, but Jonathan had insisted on paying rent. Over the next few days, he got his son back from his wife's sister's and was really happy with the change in his life.

**..**

Another week went by. Ana returned to her work. Her days had been busy so she rarely thought about Christian, but the nights were awful. She had turned to drinking excessively. Knowing that her friends were keeping an eye on her, she had been visiting different bars every night and getting drunk until she was so numb that she didn't feel or remember a thing. She knew she was being careless, but she couldn't bring herself to care. But in her drunken state, she had failed to notice that someone had been following her around like a shadow. It started that very first day she decided to get drunk in a bar.

Jack Hyde had taken his date to that same bar where Ana had gone. He was looking around the bar one hour into the club when his eyes fell on Ana. He felt like it was fate. He had been following her ever since. He made sure to call a cab for her each time and then followed the cab in his car to make sure that she reached home safely.

It was on the eighth day when he finally approached her at the bar of a club. That night Ana had worn a pair of slim-fit black jeans, black deep v top, black leather jacket, black high heeled ankle boots, and black choker. Jack had felt his pants tightening at the very sight of her. He just couldn't wait any more.

"Ms. Steele? What a pleasant surprise!" he greeted like he just saw her.

Ana was already drunk. Her vision was blurry. She recognized the man but didn't quite remember where she knew him from. "HEyyy.." she greeted, squinting and blinking rapidly at him.

"Wow you're so drunk that you don't even remember my name!" Jack exclaimed, laughing.

"I 'member..." Ana mumbled, pouting.

"Okay, stop drinking. I'll take you home. Come," he said pulling her from the stool.

"Bu... I wanna dink more," Ana hiccupped.

"Be a good girl. Let me take you home now. You can drink again later," he promised dropping a kiss on her forehead.

Ana felt like something wrong was happening, but her brain wasn't cooperating. She went along with the familiar man without any protest. Seeing that she wasn't protesting, people around her thoughts nothing of it. So, they went on with their lives, as Jack took away Ana from that club.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**A/N: Psst... I like reading reviews a lot *whispers from a dark corner* **


	18. Chapter 18

**DISCLAIMER: **** Fifty shades of Grey or its' characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.**

**Uploading unedited**

**.**

***Information:***

Ana and her friends = 24 years old

Christian = 28 years old

Mia = 22 years old

Elliot = 30 years old

Stephen = 28 years old **[**I'm casting Stephen Amell as Stephen of my story ;)**]**

**.**

**.**

**Chapter - 18:**

**.**

It had been 20 days since the breakup. It was Wednesday and Christian had finally returned to work. Since he had been working from his home office this whole time, there wasn't much work pending at the office. A knock on his office door made him look up from the file he had been reading. "Come in!" he called out.

Ros entered the room with a frustrated look on her face. Christian was not only her boss but her friend as well. The dark circles around his eyes and his weight loss was clear to see for everyone. She didn't want to disturb her boss, but she knew she had to. "Christian, one of our potential clients just got raided by income tax department. It's all over the NEWS," she informed.

"WHAT?! Turn the TV on NOW," Christian ordered jumping up from his seat.

Ros did as she was instructed and started browsing through the channels to look for the NEWS. Suddenly, the door of Christian's office burst open and Elliot barreled inside with Andrea closely following behind him. They could hear her protest.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU, ELLIOT?!" Christian snarled. He already had too much to deal with. He didn't have enough energy to deal with brother as well.

"I'm sorry, sir. I tried to stop him," Andrea apologized frantically.

"Christian... it's Ana," Elliot said panting.

Christian paled instantly at Elliot's words. "What are you talking about? What's happened to her?" he asked grabbing his brother by his shoulders.

"You might want to see this, boss," Ros interrupted the brothers as she stared at the TV, horrified. She had met Ana many times and se really liked the girl.

All four of them could hear the NEWS reporter saying clearly, "**BREAKING NEWS! The co-owner of the famous STEELE TOWER, Anastasia Steele has been missing since Monday night. 24-year-old Anastasia Steele was last seen at this bar downtown. According to her close friends, she had a stress filled day at work that day and wanted to relax a little. One of her best friends, Chloe Chandler, informed the police that Anastasia was dressed in a pair of black jeans, black top, black leather jacket, black high heeled ankle boots, and black choker.** **Witnesses informed that they had seen her leaving with a man, but unfortunately none of them were able to give a correct description of the man. She left the bar around 1 am that night. The surveillance camera caught her leaving with the man with his arm around her. Anastasia looked completely drunk and she looked unstable on her feet. Authorities have been looking through the CCTV footage of the club, but nothing helpful was found so far. Her family is pleading for help with the search. Please contact your local authorities if you see this woman!**" The NEWS showed Ana's photos and a video clip of Carla and Ray pleading to the public for help.

Christian's legs gave out. He fell on his knees as he stared at the NEWS report in disbelieve. "no… no... no… NO! Please, no! This can't be happening! Please... tell me it's a joke! She can't be gone!" he started begging, grabbing his hair roughly.

"Why was she alone at the time? Why didn't her friends go with her?" Ros questioned Elliot.

"According to Kate... Ana had been keeping her friends and family at a distance ever since the breakup. She didn't want to worry them apparently. She would act like the happy girl she was known to be, then she would dress up, and then vanish alone for hours after work. She would then return drunk out of her mind. They tried accompanying her many times, but she was an adult and they couldn't force her to be with them if she wanted to be left alone. They are all regretting it now," Elliot informed shaking his head sadly.

"Why are they feeling guilty? I'm the one who is responsible for all these. If I hadn't broken her heart, she would've never gone out there alone like this. I did this to her," Christian spit out as angry tears ran down his cheeks.

"Even though you're my brother... I agree with. You were an idiot for what you did. You shouldn't have broken up with her," Elliot scolded.

"I think right now it's not important to find '_who is responsible'_, it's time to find Ana. She could be in serious trouble. I heard the first 72 hours are critical in any kidnapping and missing case," Ros interjected the brothers.

"Where did Ana's family made their base camp? I want to go there," Christian announced wiping his face.

"They are all at the Steele Tower hoping the kidnapper would call," Elliot informed.

"Then you shouldn't waste any more time and go there now," Ros insisted, "I'll take care of everything here," she assured.

"Thanks, Ros," with a nod at his COO, Christian and Elliot hurried out of his office.

**..**

Christian and Elliot were in the car with Taylor driving, as they headed for Steele tower. Christian was staring out the window recalling that night when he made the biggest mistake of his life. He shouldn't have broken up with Ana. He was the reason she was in danger now. He bit down his lower lip hard to stop from sobbing as his chest hurt like someone of tearing his heart out. The ringtone of his cell phone snapped him out of his thoughts. "Hello?" he answered with a sigh.

"Christian, son. I just saw the NEWS," Carrick's familiar voice rang in his hear.

"Which one? That one of my potential clients got raided by the income tax department or that the love of my life is missing for almost 2 days?" Christian asked, bitterly.

"Ana. I just saw the breaking NEWS about her. I'm sorry, son. I'm going to Steele Tower to offer Carla and Ray whatever help I could provide," Carrick informed.

"Elliot and I are on our way as well," Christian informed with a sigh.

"Grace and I are also heading there. Son, I'm sorry you had to break up for us. We love you and Ana a lot. I can't say how sorry I am for what happened,"

"See you soon, dad," with a sigh Christian hung up.

"What did dad want?" Elliot asked.

"Mom and dad are going to Steele Tower as well," Christian informed.

"Okay," Elliot nodded.

Soon they arrived in front of the Steele Tower just as another car stopped by theirs. Christian and Elliot got out just as Carrick and Grace got out of their car. Grace hugged her son. Patting on her back, Christian pulled back. He nodded at his father in greeting before heading inside.

"Carla, dear?" Grace called out as soon as one of the workers showed the Greys in. They found Ana's friends and family were gathered in the second floor of the library. Carla and Ray were sitting on the couches with Chloe, Alyssa, and Kate while the boys were standing in various places around them.

Looking up, Carla cried out, "Oh Grace, my baby!"

Grace wrapped her arms around her friend. "I'm so sorry, Carla," Grace apologized.

"Why are you apologizing? **HE **did this! If he hadn't broken up with her, this would've never happened!" Tom accused angrily. "Our best friend is missing because of that selfish bastard," he spat out. It was really hard for him to not punch that billionaire asshole.

"I agree with Tom," Chloe said glaring at Christian who was looking down at the floor. He agreed with them after all.

"What **'break up'** are you kids talking about?" suddenly a someone said from the other side of the room. Jacob had been standing by the window, looking out. Everyone had forgotten about him. Due to their love for their best friend, Ana's friends were not bothered by Jacob. In fact, they felt grateful to have him there with them. "Uncle Jacob..." Caleb started, "Christian broke up with Ana the day you got out of prison,"

"Annie locked herself in her previous apartment and didn't come out once for a whole week. We were so worried for her. We thought… she might hurt herself. But thank God she didn't," Bill added.

Jacob finally turned around. A frown marring his face. "But both you and Ana told me everything was okay. Did you both lie to me?" he asked his sister, incredulously. He could not believe what he was hearing. He had asked his sister and niece repeatedly if everything okay or not. They both had assured that everything was fine.

Carla gave him a guilty look. "She asked me not to tell you," she whispered though tear filled eyes.

Grey family hadn't noticed him upon arrival. Now that he was talking, they were starting to feel uneasy. Christian finally looked up to meet Jacob's eye. "Tom is right. I broke her heart. I was being a selfish bastard. Now she's in danger because of me," he stated as tear flowed down his cheeks freely. He would never be able to forgive himself if anything happened to Ana.

"Do you want her to come back safe?" Jacob asked sternly.

"I do,"

"Then, stop weeping like little boy," Jacob scolded, "The first day after going missing is the most crucial time. These 24 hours are the only time when we could've hoped that Ana would be found alive. It's already been more than 36 hours. As the time go by, that chance will lessen. Whatever we do, we will have to do that in a matter of hours," he informed taking the lead.

"I called another of our best friends, William. He's a great hacker. Maybe he could help?" Jose suggested.

"Ana had her cell phone with her, right? Then If William could tell us her phone's last GPS location, then we'll have a starting point," Bill chimed in.

"Um... I know it's a private meeting but... I think I have some information," someone said interrupting the meeting. Turning towards the stairway, they found a hesitant looking Jonathan standing there.

"Yes, Jonathan?" Nicolas asked.

"Ever since the night Ana started going out, every time a man returned with her. Well... she would return in cabs, but that man would follow that cab closely. He stopped on the other side of the road each time. I didn't get to see the number plate from upstairs but I can tell you for sure that he drives a black SUV," Jonathan informed.

"Good job. Ask your hacker friend to look for black SUVs in the CCTV footage outside the club where Ana went missing and other CCTV footage around the area. I'm sure we'll find something else to go on," Jacob ordered.

"Did you see the man inside?" Christian asked Jonathan.

"No. sorry," Jonathan replied regretfully.

"Then how can you be sure that it's even a man?" Christian was frustrated.

"He once came out of the car when Ana fell getting out of the cab. The street light on the other side of the road is broken. I could see his shape and shadow, but not his features," Jonathan explained.

"FUCK!" Christian cursed before turning towards Jacob. "I want to call two of my special guys, Barney and Welch. They would be able to help," Christian offered.

"Don't be offended if I don't agree with you. After all, last time they didn't even to find those CCTV footages of your penthouse," an amused, arrogant voice said.

Looking at the at the stairs, Christian found a handsome young man. He looked like a male version of snow white; pale skin and black hair. The only difference was that he had on a pair of wire rimmed glasses. "My penthouse's CCTV footage...?" Christian asked confused. Suddenly, it was like a light bulb lit up in his head. Christian remembered. "The pranks Ana pulled on me! We never found the footage of how she pulled those off," he exclaimed.

"Of course, you didn't. I'm just THAT good!" the man smirked arrogently.

"WILLIAM! Ana is missing! We need help! Is now the time to boost about your illegal hacking activities?!" Caleb scolded.

Pouting, William nodded, "Sorry, I forgot," he muttered.

"You're the hacker guy?" Jacob asked.

"Ye...AH!" William stumbled back and fell on his butt as he pointed at Jacob. "Se-ser-serial killer!" he whimpered.

"Yes, and I am going to kill you in a VERY painful way if you don't get off your butt and help me find my niece," Jacob stated, taking a threatening step towards the black haired boy.

"Y-yes, of-of course, master... I mean Mr. Williams. Hey! Our names match! I-I mean… n-nothing.." William rambled on nervously.

Ignoring the boy, Jacob turned to others in the room. "We should take this conversation to Ana's place," he suggested. "Those who can and willing to help me find my niece, only they should join us in Ana's place," he said looking pointedly at Christian and his family.

"OF COURSE, we want to help! We never wanted Ana and Christian to break up. We saw how much they loved each other. We never thought our son would THIS stupid. For a billionaire he has shit for brain," Carrick grumbled glaring at his son.

"Well, you should've told me so earlier. I wouldn't have foolishly hurt both Ana and I then," Christian exclaimed. He looked like a little boy who just learned that he was allowed to eat cookies, he didn't have to steal them.

"STOP! Let's go," Jacob stated before kneeling before Carla. "Come on, sister! Take us up to Ana's apartment," he said kindly to the woman that claimed him her brother.

**..**

Tyson came barking and whining to Jacob when he entered Ana's apartment. Nicolas, Tom, and Bill had been taking care of Tyson while Ana was gone. Still Tyson ran to Jacob. Carla started sobbing at the scene. "She finally introduced you," she said.

"She did," Jacob answer scratching behind Tyson's neck. "Alright! LISTEN UP!" he clapped his hands loudly. "Who are the lawyers?" he asked. Carrick and Kate raised their hands. "Find out about every law in Washington state about kidnap victims and missing person's family. What leeway do the family members have and so on? Ray, you and Carla are in charge of handling the police. call them as frequently as you can, get their attention, and make them give attention to this case. Ask them to treat this as abduction case instead of missing person case," he ordered.

"Boy, you get the media involved. Make sure people know Ana as soon as they see her face. But... don't tell anyone that you're her... ex or present. If the kidnapper had been stalking her then there's possibility that he has a crush on her or he's a serial killer just getting to know his victim's routine," Jacob said to Christian.

"Wow! You're really good at this," Jose exclaimed grinning widely. "Where did you learn this from?" he asked excitedly.

EVERYONE in the room turned to stare at the boy in disbelieve. Jacob gave Jose an amused smile and said, "I am really good. After all... that's what I used to do before killing those couples,"

Jose froze and paled instantly. "Right, sorry. I forgot," he replied blushing. He had honestly forgotten about that for a moment.

Carrick blinked at Jacob's unashamed confession. It startled him. He didn't know how criminals think, but he thought at least he would show some remorse after spending 25 years in jail.

"William, will you be able to look for black SUVs in the CCTV footage outside of the club where Ana went missing and also the other CCTV footage in the surrounding the area. Also you need to look through the CCTVs at the entrance of the building. maybe we will find some clues. You'll also need to find Ana's phone's last GPS location. Will you be able to do all these alone?" Jacob asked.

"It's like he is possessed by a drill sergeant," Elliot whispered to his brother. "By the way, did you notice he called everyone by name, but he called you 'boy'?" he snickered. Christian glared at his brother. He didn't find it amusing, because he did notice that Jacob didn't say his name once.

"Did you know that... he only endures me because I'm Ana's dad?" the brothers hadn't noticed that Ray had joined them. At their questioning look, Ray added, "I know for sure if Carla didn't see him as her brother and he didn't love her like his little sister, he wouldn't have hesitated to take Ana and Carla. Ana had been his from the very beginning. The bond got stronger when Ana went to visit him in Jail for the first time,"

By then, Carrick had also joined them. "I never thought about how criminals feel about their family,"

"No, Carrick. Jacob was a criminal when he hurt those innocent people. Right now, he's not a criminal. He's a bear whose cub was taken from him. If I'm protective about my little girl, then he is much, much more. I don't like him, but I know he is the only person I would leave my family with. They will be the safest with him. You know, the only way to get on his bad side is by attempting to hurt anyone he loves. Do that and you will be quite finished. I fear for anyone that tries to harm something he loves," Ray snorted.

"Does he really love Ana THAT much?" Carrick asked.

"He does. For him, Ana and Carla are his family. If Ana wasn't kidnapped right now, you would've been in trouble," Ray said to Christian.

"I can't express how sorry I am," Christian whispered.

"Is there a reason you guys are standing around like morons? Did I or did I not give you some things to do?" Jacob's cold voice made all four men flinch. "Boy, ask your special person Welch and Barney here and tell them to bring few monitors with them as well. William will need them," he added.

Everyone went to do what they were asked to do. They didn't want to anger Jacob. "Caleb? You and Liam work with Ana closely for the book store, right?" Jacob inquired.

"How did you know? And... how do you know our names so well?" Liam asked curiously.

"Ana. She always came back with stories about you guys. She loves and respects you guys so much," Jacob said with a kind smile.

"Ana was always sensitive about you. Even though she shared about you, she never forced us to meet you or interact with you. We're sorry that we're meeting in this situation. And yes, Liam and I work directly with Ana. The book store/Library is Ana's baby. Even though she works at the restaurant and retail store sometimes, The library was all hers," Caleb informed proudly.

"I heard about you guys so much that I feel like I already know you all personally. Anyways, I need you to give me information about all the new publication houses and clients you got in the library/book store in the last 1 year. Try to remember if she said anything negative about any of them," Jacob ordered.

"On it," and both boys went back downstairs to get the info.

**.**

**..**

**.**

An intense pain woke her up. She screamed as the pain continued. She felt like her eyes were glues shut but she felt like that every time she drank. Last thing she remembered was being in a bar and drinking a lot. That would explain her headache, but she couldn't figure out where the other pain was coming from. She forced her eyes to open enough to find someone sitting beside her with his back to her, holding one of her hands. That's where the pain was coming form. At first, Ana thought he was breaking her fingers, but then she realized that he was pulling out her nails... one by one.

"OW! NO! LET GO!" she screamed trying to get her hand free of the man, but he held on tightly. She noticed that she was also bound to the bed she was laying on, so her movements were limited.

The man tutted at her. "Don't move or you'll ruin it," he scolded. As if pulling someone's nail off was a totally normal thing to do.

For some reason, his voice sounded familiar. "W-who are y-you? Wh-whyy are you doing this? AAHH!" she screamed as he pulled out another nail.

"And... all done. You've been a good girl," the man said before turning around, giving Ana the shock of her life.

"M-Mr. Hyde? Jack? W-what?" she was so confused. She always thought he was a little creepy but she had never even dreamed him like this. She clutched her hand close to her chest and stared at him in disbelieve.

"I know it's a little hard to digest, but you have to accept it as... you're not going anywhere from here," Jack smiled bashfully.

"What do you mean? Why am I here? I don't understand..." Ana trailed off as she tried to get up and failed, "Why am I bound to the bed like this?" she demanded.

"I don't want you to ruin my master piece. That's why you're bound there," Jack pouted.

"What 'master piece'? What are you talking about?" Ana asked as dread filled her insides.

"You see... I love sex. It's the best thing ever!" Jack exclaimed grinning widely as he started pacing in front of the bed. "But... I don't like it when my partners move or make noises. It's irritating," he grumbled with his hands on his waist as he turned to look at Ana.

"So... you like to have sex with sex dolls. How does that involve me being locked up here?" Ana asked, confused.

"You see I like to have sex with dolls, but only with the ones that I specially make. That's why you're here. You're perfect for my doll collection. You will be my master piece," he explained proudly.

"Doll collection? What the fuck are you talking about, Jack Hyde? I'm a human. How can I be part of a doll collection? And let go of me!" Ana growled angrily.

Jack rolled his eyes. "No need for shouting. I'm going to show you and explain more," he said before going to the other side of the room. There was a large, tall case type something covered with orange silk sheet. When he pulled the sheet off, Ana felt like her heart was going to run away from her body. There were 6 girls, all dress in a mix of cute and sexy modern short Lolita outfits, in a large glass display case. They all had same hair color and were petite. They looked like normal girls, but none of them were moving... or blinking.

"J-Jack?" the question was clear in Ana tone.

"Ana, I present you my special sex dolls. I made them myself," Jack informed proudly.

"So... you make life like dolls and then... have sex with them?" Ana asked, hoping that's what this was.

"What? NO!" Jack laughed. "I find beautiful girls with unmarred pale skin, brown hair and petite body shape. I always make sure when I bring them, I left no mark on them. That's why I always restrain them with silk," he beamed, "Then after I collect my trophies," he said pointing at the small tray where Ana's bloody nails were placed, "I fill them with liquid polymer. After they harden, I wash them, change them into those cute clothes and then I make love to them. Again and again," he finished with a serene smile on his face.

Ana felt her body freeze in terror. It wasn't a man standing in front of her... it was a heinous monster. "You turn those innocent girls into your sick version of taxidermy and then, as if that's not awful enough, you rape them?" Ana asked in disbelieve.

"Don't be rude! What I do with my dolls is not rape. They are mine to do whatever I want with them," Jack huffed. "Did you know at one point I almost decided to move on from you and find someone else... but then you came to California! It was like Universe brought you to me! Isn't it amazing?" He was almost glowing with joy.

"When did you decide that... I would be..." Ana trailed off.

"My master piece?! My final piece?!"Jack finished. Ana nodded hesitantly. "The very first day we met. You were beautiful in that yellow maxi skirt. I wondered if you were wearing panties under that. That was the moment when I imagined you as one of my dolls. My final doll," he looked really happy, excited.

"What the..." Ana trailed off. She couldn't digest the thought that this man had been after her for so long and she didn't even know. Her uncle had always told her to be alert. Ana was regretting not following his instructions. She had been a complete moron.

"You wanna know a secret?" Jack asked breaking Ana from her thoughts, "None of my sweet dolls have any underwear on. I can fuck them whenever I want," his smile was taking a scary turn.

"When are you going to kill me?" Ana asked. she wanted to know how much time she had to attempt to escape.

"Not kill, turn you. In three to four days. I want the wounds on your fingers to heel a little. I won't be able to attach fake nails on them otherwise," Jack shrugged with a grimace like a little boy who broke his toy.

Ana continued to stared at him in complete disbelieve.

**.**

**..**

**.**

"Mr. Williams?" Kate approached Jacob who was sharpening something. As she rounded the corner, she found that he was sharpening a Boker Magnum spike Karambit fixed Blade. It looked like a bird claw.

"Yes, Kate?"

"Caleb told me if any of us remembered Ana telling us anyone strange about any our clients or business partners, we should tell you. I just remembered something," she said, "But... can I ask you something first?"

Jacob turned his head to look at the young woman. "Yes?"

"Is... is this the same knife you used to... kill all those..." Kate didn't finish the sentence, but Jacob understood her question.

"No, it's not. I bought this one specially for the person who took my child," he said admiring the shine of the blade, "When I'm satisfied with its sharpness, I'm going to coat it with poison. He deserves the most painful death after all," his smile sent a chill down Kate's back. "I answered your question. Now tell me what you came to say," he ordered.

Seeing Kate talking to Jacob, Elliot approached them. He also dragged Christian with him. "When we first approached the Grey publication, it was not bought by Christian yet. It was SIP... Seattle Independent Publications," they heard her say.

Frowning, Christian asked, "What's going on, Kate?"

Giving him only a glance, Kate continued, "That day we met 3 people there; Anthony Billings, the CEO of SIP, Elizabeth Morgan, head of Finances, and Jack Hyde, Acquisitions Editor. The meeting had gone nicely, but Ana seemed a little disturbed after it. When I asked about, she had shaken her head and said and I quote _'Why are there so many perverts? A woman can't go anywhere without encountering them.'_ end quote,"

"She called someone in that meeting 'pervert'. That mean one of those two men was the pervert," Elliot concluded.

"Can you arrange a meeting with these two men?" Jacob asked Christian.

"On it," Christian said before heading towards Ana's guest room where William, Welch and Barney had set up their computers. After ordering Welch to find Anthony Billings and Jack Hyde, Christian called Taylor. "Taylor, do whatever you have to do, but find me Anthony Billings and Jack Hyde," he ordered.

"Make sure to ask them to find their phone's GPS locations in the last few days. That would reveal a lot of things," Nicolas told Christian. He had followed Christian when he saw him going to Ana's guest room. He heard what Christian had ordered. "By the way, who are these two people?" he asked.

"Ana made a negative comment about one of these two man," Christian informed.

"Are these the only ones?" Nicolas asked with a frown.

"So far," Christian shrugged.

**A few hours later.**

Welch approached Christian. All of them were gathered in the living room, updating on their progress to Jacob. "I have some NEWS," Welch announced. 

"Did you find those men?" Christian asked.

"I found one of them, Anthony Billings. He had moved to Greece with his whole family after selling SIP. Jack Hyde, on the other hand, now that guy is a little strange. He stayed in Seattle for a while... before he got a job as VP in one of the companies in California, but then he returned to Seattle after quitting his well-paying job. He changed his number soon after returning, and strangely... we didn't find his new address. It's like he vanished after coming back to Seattle," Welch informed with a troubled frown.

"What do you mean '_he vanished_'?" Christian growled at him.

"There's no online trail of him," Welch clarified hesitantly.

"Then we will search for him the old fashion way. My instinct says we'll find Ana's clue from this guy," Jacob stated thoughtfully.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**A/N: So? Do you think Ana's family with find her before it's too late? Or will they find a plastic doll instead? **

**Don't forget that I love reviews. *Wink***


	19. Chapter 19

**I know it had been more than 3 long weeks since I uploaded, but my real life had been kicking my butt in the worst way possible. But I promised to myself that no matter what I will NOT start my next story until I finish this one. So, I will complete this story. This one has only a 1 or 2 chapters left anyway. Hope you will stay by my side till the end. Love you guys.**

**.**

**UPLOADING UNEDITED!**

**.**

**.**

**Previously: **

"Did you find those men?" Christian asked.

"I found one of them, Anthony Billings. He had moved to Greece with his whole family after selling SIP. Jack Hyde, on the other hand, now that guy is a little strange. He stayed in Seattle for a while... before he got a job as VP in one of the companies in California, but then he returned to Seattle after quitting his well paying job. He changed his number soon after returning, and strangely... we didn't find his new address. It's like he vanished after coming back to Seattle," Welch informed with a troubled frown.

"What do you mean '_he vanished_'?" Christian growled at him.

"There's no online trail of him," Welch clarified hesitantly.

"Then we will search for him the old fashion way. My instinct says we'll find Ana's clue from this guy," Jacob stated thoughtfully.

**.**

**.**

**Chapter - 19:**

**.**

Ray's phone rang, breaking up the discussion happening around the living room. "It's the police," he said before answering the phone. After talking on the phone for a few minutes, he hung up. Just as he was going to tell everyone why the police called, William ran out of Ana's guest room and shouted "I found Ana's phone's location!"

"So did the police," Ray informed, "That's what they said,"

"Did they find anything else? Where did they find Ana's phone?" Christian asked.

"Her phone's location shows it's about half an hour outside the city, west side. It's been there for as long as Ana had been missing; plus minus half a hour," William informed fixing his glasses. "Do you think Ana is being kept somewhere outside the city?" he asked Jacob who had a frown on his face.

"It's a possibility... but it could also be a trick. The kidnapper might be trying to mislead us," Jacob answered.

"SIR?!" Taylor called out hurrying inside the apartment. He was holding a file on his hand. "Jack Hyde's detailed background check came just now. You should see this," he said panting.

"Show me," Jacob said taking the file from Taylor. Christian stood beside Jacob as they looked over the file with frowns on their faces.

"What is it? What did you find?" Grace asked.

"When Jack Hyde started working at SIP four years ago, one of his assistants disappeared, never to be found. Jack was questioned about it," Christian informed, "A few years later, one of Jack Hyde's neighbors also disappeared. He was questioned... again, but still nothing," he added.

"What is interesting is that in both of these cases... the girls were brunettes and petite," Jacob said narrowing his eyes.

"Something Ana had in common with them," Nicolas concluded, "Do you think those girls are somehow connected to Ana's kidnapping?" he asked.

"Is Jack the one doing this?" Jose asked.

"If he is, then we will tear his balls off of his body," Bill growled.

"I'll make sure you have the chance," Jacob commented with a slight smile.

"William, look!" Barney called out from the guest room.

Excusing himself, William ran to the room and a few minutes later, there was a cry of victory. Jacob, Christian, and Ana's friends exchanged a confused glance.

"William?! What's going on?" Caleb called out.

A minute later, William ran out of the room with an excited smile gracing his face. "WE FOUND IT!" he exclaimed.

"What did you find?" Jacob asked, a small spark of hope igniting in his chest.

"We found that SUV that had been following Ana... and we also found the number plate," William beamed.

"YES!" Liam fist pumped, grinning widely.

"Try to track that car's GPS location if possible," Carrick ordered.

"When you're done with that give the location to the police... one hour after we head out," Jacob instructed as a sadistic smile graced his face.

A cold shiver ran down everyone's back at his expression. "Um... o-okay, I guess?" William stuttered.

"How long will it take?" Christian asked.

"A few minutes," William informed before returning to the guest room.

"Only a few of Ana's friends, the boy and I will go to bring Ana back. The rest of you will stay here. Ray, you will give the police that SUV's location and tell them that Barney found it. NO need to get Hacker boy in trouble," Jacob instructed.

"But Jake...?" Carla tried to protest, but Jacob stopped her.

"No, sis. We don't know how we might find Annie, and I don't want you to see that. You trust me, no?" At Carla's reluctant nod, he continued, "then, have faith in me, sis,"

William and Barney came back a fifteen minutes later with victorious smiles on their faces. "Mr. Jacob? The car's GPS location and one of the properties from Jack Hyde's background check matched. That means he's there... and maybe Ana too if he's the one who kidnapped her," they said.

"Let's go then. Ray make sure to handover Jack Hyde's background check's file and that SUV's location," Jacob instructed.

"One hour later?" Ray asked to clarify.

"Yeah. Anyways, who wants to come along?" Jacob asked.

"Nicolas, Tom, Liam, Kellan, and I," Caleb announced.

"Elliot and I are also coming," Christian added.

"Let's go," Jacob said before pausing with a sheepish look on his face. "I need your car keys," he said to Carla.

Carla gave him a glare through tears, "Told you car is better, but did you listen?" she hissed shoving the car keys in his hand. Jacob smirked at her before heading out.

"Hey! I wanted to go too," Bill's protest was ignored.

**.**

**.**

Ana moaned as she came back to consciousness for the second time since her kidnapping. She hadn't had anything to eat for more than 50 hours. She was starving and thirsty. "Water!" she gasped out.

"Good, you're awake! I'll get you some water right away. It'll be easier for you to swallow this way," Jack said cheerfully before he came with a glass of water. He held her head and help her drink. Once Ana had finished the water, Jack said happily. "Did you notice that your finger wounds has stopped bleeding? I'm so happy. Now I can attach long fake nail on them, before I immortalize you. Can't have ourselves a broken doll now, can we? It'll diminish the value of the entire collection. No need to panic now. You'll be as beautiful forever as you are right now," Jack said with a happy smile.

He finally removed her binds and helped her off of the bed. He held Ana strongly, her back to his chest, and forced her to walk to a doll stand of some kind. Not that she could've done much. She felt weak at a newborn deer. "It'll all be over soon," he said in a soothing voice as he secured Ana to the doll stand to keep her in correct position and bound her with soft silk sheets again.

"Jack, there's still time. Let me go... please… I won't tell anyone... please let me go," Ana begged as she continued to cry. She'd been trying to find a way to get out of this place, but now she was losing hope. She started to shiver in fear. Each time Jack laid a finger on her, she trembled like a leaf.

"Shh, it's okay. Now, let me see that cut," Jack ignored her plea and wiped her face off. He took her hand and started gluing on fake nails on her wounded fingers. Ana screamed in pain each time but he continued, humming under his breath. "Oh, you'll make a perfect doll, my Ana. Perfect, just like the others," he said suddenly with a serene smile.

Ana followed his gaze to a glass case on her right and was overflown by sobs at the sight of the six perfectly lined up girls in their pretty doll outfits. They all had a look of terror and death etched permanently on their lifeless faces. He'd killed them all and next it would be her. She exhaled loudly, defeated. There was nothing more she could do. There was no way out. She closed her eyes and let the tears trail down her cheeks silently.

"There, all beautiful again," Jack said, putting away the nail kit. Soon, he started setting up the tubes and cables of a canister.

Ana had spaced out for a few minutes. The sight of the dead girls had brought on the reality of the situation. She was about to die. If someone didn't come for her in about ten seconds, Ana was going to die a very horrible death.

**.**

**.**

It took them close to 40 minutes to reach the location. They had collected Kellan on their way here. Jacob had asked (**ordered**) them to they stopped one block away from the address as he didn't want to alert the criminal inside. Christian and the boys got instantly out of the cars as soon as they stopped. Christian noticed that Jacob took his time stepping out of his car casually. One would think Jacob was just meeting some acquaintance, but looking deep in his eyes, you can see the devil himself has taken residence there. Christian almost felt sorry for that asshole inside.

"Make sure not to make any noise as we get close. We don't want him to get alerted," Jacob warned before heading towards the abandoned warehouse.

"Uncle Jacob, I think we should split up into three teams. That way we will reach Ana faster," Tom suggested.

"Good idea," Jacob nodded. "Kellan, Nicolas, and Tom. You three go from the back entrance. Caleb, Liam, and Elliot. You three go from that side entrance. The boy and I will go from the front. Hurry," he said before they hurried to the warehouse, making sure not to be seen from inside.

Jacob moved quietly along the wall of the warehouse, angling himself for a better position to see what was going on inside through one of the windows. Christian followed his lead. "There's no one on the out rooms," Christian commented in hushed tone.

"Hmm... but the place has been recently cleaned," Jacob pointed out.

"Those doors are closed. Could they be in there?" Christian asked pointing towards a set of doors.

"Could be. let's go," Jacob and Christian hurried inside through one the broken windows.

They looked through other rooms as they headed towards the room with closed door, just to be sure that they weren't heading in the wrong direction and missing something important. They were soon reached in front of the closed door. Taking a deep breath, Christian opened the door slightly. They were faced with a large clean warehouse with tons of bright lights. But it was the large glass case in the room that grabbed Christian and Jacob's attention. Both man could hear a man talking on the other side of the glass case. Christian tried to rush over but Jacob stopped him. He kept a finger on his lips before hurrying over to the glass case and looked inside peeking from the side. Jacob was surprised seeing that there were actually six girls dressed in doll clothes inside the glass case. Through the glass, he could see all the girls were brunette and petite, completely un-moving. He put a hand to the glass and it was cold to the touch... too cold for anyone to survive. That meant all the girls were dead… with creepily alive looking bodies. Even Jacob was disturbed by this. Why were these girls were like this, he didn't know, but Jacob had a deep suspicion that whatever the reason was, he wasn't going to like it.

**.**

**.**

Jack had gone to another corner of the huge room Ana was kept in. Ana looked around the place. It looked like large warehouse. How Jack had come to have this place without getting caught by anyone, Ana didn't understand. Jack returned with a large canister. There was a thick clear tube connected to it. Ana could only guess what that tube was going to be used for.

"J-Jack?! Please! No," she begged as terror filled her to the top.

Jack ignored her like he could hear her crying and came close with a pleased smile on his face. He grabbed her jaw hard and squeezed until Ana's mouth was open in a perfect 'O'. He then forced the plastic tube into her mouth and secured it. Ana was breathing fast, her heart pounded in her ears. She eyed the canister and cried as she imagined whatever it was going down her throat, shutting out the air. Jack turned the valve of the canister and white liquid substance started coming through the clear tube, connect to Ana's mouth.

At Ana's bewildered look, Jack informed, "It's liquid polymer. It's going to harden as it enters you," he beamed proudly.

Ana shook violently. She watched as the liquid made its way down the clear tube and reached the curve that led up to her mouth.

"If you struggle, it'll take longer," Jack said, pouting.

Ana frowned and decided that she would struggle until the very last second. She started fighting against her binds rigorously for one last time. She was NOT going down without a fight. The plastic was going up now, inches away from her face, and Ana fought against her binds harder than ever.

Suddenly, it was like her prayers had been answered. Ana noticed movements from the corner of her eyes. When she glanced at the direction of the glass case, she saw two familiar faces running towards her. Then it was chaos all around. Christian reached her and pulled out the clear thick tube from her mouth forcefully; while Jacob reached Jack and punched him hard, making him fall to the floor in the process.

Ana spit out the plastic that made it to her mouth before it got a chance to harden. Her cheeks hurt from the way the tube was pulled out, but she didn't care. They were here for her; she didn't have to die today. **'Wait!... Why are they together? How did they get together? Ana! Is this really the time to wonder this?'** She rolled her eyes at her thought.

"Are you really rolling your eyes? We just saved you from a crazy man," Christian exclaimed in disbelief. He was trying to hide how scared he was at how close he had come to losing her.

"I'm not rolling my eyes at the situation... I'm rolling my eyes at my random thought. Hi..." Ana said to Christian as tear filled her eyes. She had thought she would never see him again.

"Hey baby," Christian whispered as he held her face in his hand.

"Can you concentrate here for a moment, kids?" Jacob's irritated tone snapped the lovers out of the haze and they realized where they were. Christian pulled away from Ana and they turned to find Jacob giving them an annoyed look as he held Jack on a chock hold.

While Jacob was distracted by Christian and Ana, Jack managed to buck Jacob off of his back, rolling to his feet and putting up a placating hand. "She's mine. She's my master piece. You can't have her," he protested sharply.

"My niece is not going to be a part of your creepy set," Jacob growled.

Clearly the man wasn't interested in further chat as he charged at Jack, a murderous look in his eye. They were close in height and weight and Jack could tell that this man was trained. It was sheer luck that Jack managed to avoid the first punch, but he was not lucky for long as the man's violent attacks started getting more out of control with each punch he threw at Jack

"I won't let you take her. She's **mine**!" grunted Jack just before he was hit by a throat crushing vicious punch thrown by the other man. Jack only had a split second before he was lifted off his feet and pile driven into the ground. He barely had enough presence of mind to get up on his feet to protect himself from the other man throwing himself on top of him, violently pounding into him. Jack felt like he was fighting some kind of rabid dog. Every vein in the other man was popping out of his body, every muscle bunched into extreme tension. He was red-faced, sweating all over and looking like he had no intention of stopping. Jack was finally starting to fear for his life. Jacob grabbed Jack's arm, flipping him over his back and snapping the radial bone in the process.

"My niece is **NOT **yours! She **NEVER **will be," Jacob snarled as he kicked out at the Jack's leg, crunching Jack's knee under his boot and causing his opponent to drop to his knees, screaming in extreme pain. Jacob used his advantage, landing a hard punch on Jack's face and following through with his elbow to knock Jack unconscious. Jacob pulled out the special Boker Magnum spike Karambit fixed Blade he had bought just so he could cut this piece of crap into pieces. He knelt over Jack's unconscious body and was just about to struck when Ana's voice stopped him.

"UNCLE, NO!" Ana screamed. While Jacob was busy beating the hell out of Jack, Christian had freed her from the doll stand. She was really weak from days of starving that Christian had to hold her up against him for her to be able to stay standing.

"But, Annie, he hurt you! No one hurts my kid and gets away," Jacob growled.

"No, Uncle Jake. Don't ruin your chances for me. You just got out. I just got you. I can't lose you again. Please! I'm not worth it. It was my stupidity that brought this on. I should've been more careful. Please don't ruin your life for me," Ana begged.

"You, silly girl. As if there was ever a choice. When it comes down to it, you're always gonna come before anything else, Annie, even my freedom. I can't just let him go on after he tortured you like that. If we were even a few minutes late... you would've died," Jacob said firmly.

"Uncle, please don't make me loose you," Ana sobbed.

With a defeated sigh, Jacob got up from the floor. He kicked jack hard between his legs before approaching his niece. "Kiddo?" he said opening his arms. Staggering, Ana went to her uncle. "You okay?" he asked the girl in his arms.

"I was so scared," Ana sobbed.

"Ana, Are... those... are they..." Christian hesitated pointing at the glass case.

"They are all dead. He made them ingest liquid polymer and turned them into his own taxidermized sex dolls," Ana informed through tears.

"Bastard!" Christian growled.

"Boy, call Ray and tell them we found Ana... and ask if they contacted the police yet. If not, tell them to send the police all the information right away," Jacob instructed. With a nod, Christian stepped away a few feet from them and started following the instructions.

Nicolas, Caleb, Kellan, Tom, Liam, and Elliot rushed into the room as few seconds later. "Is that him?" Liam asked first.

"Oh Ana!" her friends breathed out in relief before she found herself in her the arms of her various friends.

While Ana and Jacob were busy with her friends, Elliot approached Christian. he had finished his call and was staring at the love of his life.

"Are you okay, Bro?" Elliot asked.

"No! I almost lost her," Christian said with a shudder.

"You didn't, Christian. She's okay, thank God," Elliot said patting his younger brother on the back.

"I've decided something," Christian started.

"What?"

"If she agrees to have me back, I'm going to marry her. I don't care of one of her family members is a former serial killer. She's mine and I'm hers. I won't let anyone come between us. That was an idiotic mistake," Christian informed determined

"Good for you, man. I hundred percent support you," Elliot grinned at his brother before glancing at the unconscious man on the floor. "We should bind him to something, otherwise he might try to run," he suggested with a frown.

"Yeah," Christian said scowling at the man on the floor, before Elliot and he got busy binding the asshole with the long silk sheet they found Ana bound with.

**.**

Half an hour later, the police were at the scene. They found the culprit bound in a hogtie on the floor. It was clear that he was beaten badly, not that the police didn't think he deserved any less. They thought the victim's family were rather kind. Instead of killing him, they left him alive. Then again, Jack Hyde needed to be punished for all seven of his victims, not just one. So, one death wouldn't have been enough.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**A/N: Did you like the fight scene? Was it brutal enough for Jack? I know a few of you were disappointed in Christian as he was kind of pansy in this story and he also didn't fight Jack. But I wanted this story to reflect more of Jacob and Ana's father-daughter like bonding than our usual Christian-Ana bonding.**


	20. Chapter 20

**DISCLAIMER: ****Fifty shades of Grey or its' characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.**

**UNEDITED!**

**.**

***Information:***

Ana and her friends = 24 years old

Christian = 28 years old

Mia = 22 years old

Elliot = 30 years old

Stephen = 28 years old **[**I'm casting Stephen Amell as Stephen of my story ;)**]**

**.**

**.**

**Chapter - 20:**

**.**

The seemingly abandoned warehouse was flooding with first responders. Ana was sitting on the back of one the ambulances getting checked out. Jacob was standing leaning against said ambulance as he observed his niece getting treated with a narrowed eyes. Christian and the boys were giving police their statements. Jacob was already done with his. Even though Jack wasn't dead, the police kept on giving Jacob suspicious looks.

"Detective?! Is there a reason you keep glancing at my girlfriend's uncle while the criminal of this case is being loaded in your vehicle?" Christian asked sternly.

"It's just strange, don't you think? A serial killer's family member got taken by another serial killer. Even though it looks like he loves the girl and is really protective about her, Jacob Williams didn't kill Jack Hyde. Why?" The detective mused.

"Why don't you focus on giving this asshole his dues instead of worrying about things you don't need to do?" Christian said angrily.

"Right! I apologies," with one last glance at Jacob, the detective left.

To keep herself distracted, Ana turned her head to look at her uncle. "You saved me. Thank you,"

"It was a team effort. I wouldn't have been able to save you if it wasn't for your friends and that boy's IT people," Jacob stated blankly.

"That boy? Do you mean 'Christian'?" Ana asked wincing as the paramedic wrapped a bandage around one of her nail-less fingers.

"Yeah,"

"Why are you calling his 'boy'?"

"Your friends told me everything about how he broke your heart. You lied to mew, kiddo," Jacob stated softly.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Jake. I didn't... I didn't want to trouble you with my messed up relationship," Ana answered with sad puppy eyes.

"I don't like how he hurt you and now he thinks he can just waltz his way in your life again just because he helped to find you. On top of that he is as interesting as scrambled eggs. And, for the record, I don't find scrambled eggs particularly interesting," Jacob scowled, rolling his eyes.

"How awful!" Ana mocked him with a sad smile.

"Yes, Ana. It is awful, but do you know what I realized today?"

"What, Uncle Jake?!"

It's terrifying what I'd do to keep you safe. I don't even know how I stopped myself from tearing that asshole apart. It was really hard," Jacob said with a wry smile.

"Nothing worth it is ever easy," Ana smiled up at him, "and having you with us here is definitely worth it,"

"If you're sure, kiddo," Jacob sighed deeply before his eyes fell on Christian who was heading towards them hesitantly. "Here comes the boy," he warned Ana.

"H-hey, Ana," Christian greeted, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I just woke from a nightmare... I just wish it was really a nightmare," Ana started trembling as tears fell down her cheeks.

Christian sighed deeply. He couldn't even imagine what she must been through. He just experienced it from the sideline and he felt like he needed years of psycho-therapy to get over it. Ana had the first row seat of this shit show. He couldn't even comprehend how she would be able to get past this experience. "You'll be alright... after some time," he said softly glancing at her wounded hands.

"Hey... Ana, the police wants to talk to you," Kellan informed approaching the group.

"Can we do that from here? I don't want to see that warehouse ever again," Ana pleaded.

"I'll tell them," Kellan assured with a kind smile before he went back to the detectives.

"Are you sure you want to do this NOW? I mean, you don't have to do anything until you're ready," Christian protested.

Before Ana could reply, Jacob interrupted, "Once she gives them her statement, she'll be free to not remember these events for quite some time,"

"And I want give them as much detail as I can. I feel like... I might forget something vital if I don't do this now," Ana shuddered. She was almost in hysterics.

Jacob wrapped his arms around his niece and started making shushing noises to calm her down. Christian stepped closer and held her wrist softly. Her wrists were slightly bruised from the bindings. He bend his head and placed a soft kiss on her wrist causing Ana startle in surprise. She stares at his with wide teary eyes as Christian offer her a caring smile. Ana managed to returned the smile with her her trembling ones. Jacob watched the whole thing with narrowed eyes. Even though the young millionaire had helped him find his child, he was not going to forgive him so easily for breaking her heart.

**.**

**.**

It took them another hour and half before they were allowed to go to the hospital. Ana's parents, rest of her friends, and Christian's parents were waiting for them when they reached the hospital. Since she was a victim of a serious crime, she needed to be looked at by the doctors immediately. Ana hadn't said anything since her talk with the detectives, let alone protest about the hospital. She was staring upwards with a blankly as tears ran down from the sides of her eyes. Jacob, and her friends were told to wait in the waiting room while Ana was taken to the ER. They found Ana's parents, rest of her friends and Christian's parents in the waiting room, already waiting for them.

"Jacob! How is she? How is my baby?" Carla asked desperately.

"Carl, Carl, calm yourself," Jacob said wrapping his arms around her. "Annie is physically fine... almost. Her nails were pulled off by that fucking asshole, but otherwise, she's fine," he exhaled harshly, "but Carla... our baby is in deep trauma," he added.

"That bastard!" Ray growled as angry tears filled his eyes.

"What did you see there?" Carrick asked his sons who had joined their parents.

"He was keeping Ana in an abandoned warehouse... where he was preparing to turn Ana into one of his dolls... there were six other dead girls in a glass case... displayed like dolls. According to Ana, he had turned them into texidermized sex dolls by pouring liquid polymer into them," Christian shared shaking his head in disgust.

Carla breaks down in sobs and falls down. Jacob kneels down with her, his arms still wrapped around her. Ray stepped close and wrapped his arms around both Carla and Jacob as he tried to control his tears. They were still reeling from the horror and relief of this whole situation.

One hour later, the ER's duty doctor came to the waiting room. "Family of Ms. Anastasia Steele?" he asked.

"We are her parents," Ray answered as they all got up from their seats.

"Other than the lacerations of her nails and some mild bruises on her wrists, patient is physically fine. There was no sign of sexual assault; though I would recommend you to consult a psychiatrist. I have feeling that Ms. Steele will be suffering from PTSD," the doctor informed.

"Can we see her now?" Carla asked.

"Yes, of course, but two at a time though," The doctor gave them a sympathetic smile and left.

"You two should go meet her," Jacob said to Carla and Ray. Giving him a grateful smile, Ana's parents headed towards Ana's room.

They found Ana in her room, staring out the window. All of her fingers were wrapped in bandages. Hearing them enter, Ana turned her head and burst into tears. She was really happy and relieved to see her parents. She had thought that she would never see her family again. "Mom! Dad!" she sobbed.

"Oh baby!" Carla hugged her daughter tightly and continued crying. Ray didn't bother to wait for his turn and took his girlfriend and daughter in his arms.

**.**

**Six months later.** The wounds on Ana's fingers were healed now, but Ana could still feel the phantom pains of those wounds. She had started going to a psychiatrist, Dr. John Flynn. Due to the incident, Ana's friends and family were quite traumatized as well. So, they had all decided to go see a psychiatrist as well. Ana was grateful for their support and felt more comfortable sharing with Dr. Flynn.

While the Steeles were mending, the Greys were handling another problem. While everyone had been busy looking for Ana, Mia and Stephen eloped. Grace was really upset that their daughter had gotten married like that without telling any of them. Carrick was equally displeased with Stephen. He had thought at least Stephen would think about how they would feel. On the other hand, he couldn't believe Mia could do something like this. Elliot and Christian were PISSED! They always treated Stephen like their brother. They never even considered him a treat to their little sister. But none of their react to Mia-Stephen's wedding were as extreme as Mia and Stephen's were. When the newly married couple came to know that the rest of the family had accepted Jacob, they threw a fit of epic proportion. They acted as if they had done nothing wrong and started accusing Christian, Elliot and their parents of disloyalty and betrayal. By the time, they had finished accusing the family, Carrick and Grace were beyond upset. They told Mia and Stephen to get of the house and not come back until they've mended their ways of thinking. They told the couple that even though they loved them both, doesn't mean they would endure their misbehavior. So, Stephen and Mia left the Grey house in a huff.

Christian and Ana weren't back together, but they were found hanging out often. Even though Ana had forgiven Christian, she didn't forget how he'd left her. She wasn't ready to trust him again so soon. So, they were getting to know each other and were trying to be friends first.

**.**

**.**

**THE END**

**.**

**.**

**A/N: Yeah, I know the ending is not as satisfactory as I wanted this to be, but I lost my mojo with this story. I have two plot bunnies that's currently running around my head and I really want to write them both. Soooo... I decided to finish this story this way. I might come back to re-do the last chapter, but I might not. Thank you so, so much for staying with this story from the beginning. Love you guys. Please Stay indoors and stay safe.**


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